Tales of Creativity
by PyrothTenka
Summary: One moment Maddy is playing with her nephews, the next she finds herself in Sylvarant learning how to fire magic from a bow. How much is just imagination and what's really real? How will she get back in time to feed her nephews lunch?
1. Aunt Maddy

Author's Note:

_Yay, another story started. Please don't kill me. I had to write it, my crazy imagination demanded it. Also I've been reading far too many ToS self-inserts for my own good. _

_I'm writing this mostly for fun, and I don't mind if a lot of people are not very welcoming to another self insert. For those of you that are willing to give it a chance, I hope you enjoy it and I'm so sorry if you don't._

_For the most part, Madison Harper is very similar to me with a few differences. Mostly, the name and age are different; but there are a few other things. I actually find it to be more interesting if I put my own experiences/hobbies into it; I can make my own character more realistic because I actually know what it feels like to have done these things._

_The comments about my nephews are almost all entirely true. They really do call Tales of Symphonia 'The red bad guy game' and love playing it almost as much as I do. _

_Anyway, I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any of it's characters. Please enjoy._

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**Chapter One – Aunt Maddy**

**Madison Harper:**

"Look Aunt Maddy, it's a dinosaur train! Look!" my nephew exclaimed to me for the second time, and I didn't even look away from the computer as I answered him.

"I see that, Amos, it's very nice." My nephews' latest favorite TV show involved dinosaurs on a time traveling train. Pretty awesome; and made me wish they had shows like that when I was little, but I was a bit too busy at the moment to wonder why the carnivorous main character hadn't eaten all his friends yet.

I was writing a background on one of my more complicated characters. It was an old one I had created back in middle school so she was a bit childish, but I had a sentimental soft spot for her. I had almost forgotten about her, but I'd found an old binder from my middle school years that had some old faded pages of her story.

So, I was writing out her background. Maybe I'd look at it later and find a place for her in one of my stories. I was enjoying it too. It was one of those characters that were practically all-powerful. The ones you make when you're first starting to imagine stories.

I was having fun making her not-so-perfect. Adding a few more powerful characters than her, messing up her background, killing off the person she most cared for. I even had her memories erased at some point.

Let's see... she turned evil, then was caught by the 'good guys' and is now working for them to make up for her past transgressions. I nodded and left it at that as I saved the file and glanced up at the clock. Eleven, too soon to start lunch for my nephews, so I decided to play a game with them. Their TV shows were over anyways and they were getting antsy.

"Alright, kiddos, who wants to play the red bad guy game?" I asked as I got up from my chair.

"I do, I do!"

"Me!"

The red bad guy game was what my nephews had named Tales of Symponia; because Lloyd's clothes were red and he beat up bad guys. On the Xbox downstairs we had Tales of Vesparia which they had dubbed the black bad guy game, because Yuri wore black.

Except we didn't want them to ruin the Xbox so we set up the beat-up, old, Gamecube upstairs for them to play. Mostly they played Mariokart (the race car game) or Harvest Moon (the yes and no game, I'm still not sure why they call it that), they only played Symphonia when I was there to watch them.

I started up the game and handed them their favorite controllers to play with and pretend they were actually playing the game with me. Only the oldest, John, got to play with me and I gave him Lloyd while I played around with Kratos. We were in the Martel Temple and having only two other options, I chose the other melee characters. Casters were boring for me, no offense to Genis. Heh.

Amos didn't seem to notice that he couldn't effect anything; and the youngest, Noah, chewed on his controller staring at the pretty colors flashing across the screen. It was good times. Playing video games with my nephews was one of my all time favorite activities.

Not even the annoyingly persistent voice in my head could ruin my mood. Wait. What?

_~Ah, so I finally have your attention?~_

I froze, and on the screen Kratos got hit in the face with a fist full of rock monster cube thing.

The voice continued, ~_I was your friend, Maddy. How could you do this to me? You forgot about me; and then you ruined my life. I must admit, it's quite disconcerting to find out your entire life was made up by a little girl.~_

As the voice continued, a chill ran down my spine as I slowly recognized it.

_~Oh, I see. You thought you made me up in middle school. No, I've been with you for far longer than that. Who was it that tripped those bullies on the playground? Who juggled fire for you when you were bored in class? Who beat up the monster under the bed and tamed the bogey man in your closet?~_

That's right... I didn't remember my childhood very well, mostly because I was thought of as an odd child and I didn't want to be reminded of those unpleasant memories. I did remember the imaginary friend. The one that juggled fire.

I glanced around the room nervously, oblivious to my nephews as John got frustrated with my lack of playing and stole the controller. It was just me and the kids.

_It was just a voice in my head_, I told myself. I often heard voices in my head when I was thinking up stories. It was probably left over creativity from that background I was writing. I shrugged it off and turned to wrestle my controller away from my nephew.

_~A voice in your head I may be, but I am not to be ignored. Not again. I was surprised when you started thinking of me again, I was... happy; but then you thought up my history. Why would you do that to me? I was your best friend!~_

_I- I'm sorry!_ I stammered back in my head, assuming it could hear me. _I was just trying to give you an interesting story!_

_~Interesting...,- _the voice snorted, _-that's an understatement. Well, you made me evil, so I guess it's time for me to be bad. I want to play a game; and you, Madison Harper, are going to play with me. Whether you want to or not. It's time you learned the reality of creativity.~_

By this time, I had stepped back to sit on the couch. Leaving my nephews to the game while I had my internal dialogue with my imaginary friend. As the voice spoke, my vision swam; and when I tried to move, I couldn't.

My vision went black, and I couldn't feel my limbs anymore. I just seamed to be floating in a sea of darkness. I tried to call out, but nothing happened. I tried using my thoughts instead.

_Hello? Voice? _I tried. I couldn't remember the name of my imaginary friend. I wasn't even sure if she had a name. I gave her a name in the background, but I was hesitant to use it.

_~I'm here, and you can call me whatever you want. I stopped caring about my name about the time you erased my memory. I don't even know what my name is. It'll be just a bit longer, I'm setting things up.~ _

I paused a moment in fear as I tried to grasp what was happening. _What did you mean, 'game'? What are you doing?_

_~You will see. Conveniently, you already placed a nice dimension close by, I'm just slipping us into it. You will see how real imaginary characters are, we are not just play things for your amusement._~

The darkness began to grow light and then I could feel my limbs again. I felt something prickly under me, and could smell grass. Almost immediately I noticed my sense of smell and hearing were stronger.

I opened my eyes and squinted into the bright sunlight. My vision was better too. I was starting to feel irritated at all the changes. I sat up and put my hand to my face to confirm that I no longer wore glasses, and paused, staring at my hand in confusion.

_~That's your exsphere.~_

I shrieked in surprise when a dark red cat-thing stepped in front of me. "Holy cow! That's... you?!"

_~Yes. I did say 'we' didn't I? Also, your shrieking voice offends my ears. I'm a telepath, remember? You don't have to talk for me to hear you.~ _The cat-thing blinked up at me.

"Well excuse me for having an irritating voice! I think I'm going to talk to you whenever possible now just to annoy you! Geeze, what did you do to me?! It's like I'm Superman or something; and an exsphere? Please don't tell me that means what I think it means..."

_~It does; and I made you an elf. Mostly because when we get to Heimdall I refuse to sit outside with you and the half elves and miss all the fun.~_

"Symphonia? I can't be in Symphonia!" I protested loudly. "What about my nephews! They're all alone, and why couldn't I just be human? I mean, at least I KNOW how to be human."

_~Meh, being human wouldn't have been as much fun for me. Think of all the awkward questions you'll have to answer! Not to mention you'll be using a lot of magic so you'd have to be an elf or a half elf. Also, you don't have to worry about the time. You'll only be gone a few hours at the most. I'm keeping track of the time, as well as many other things._~

The cat stood up and walked a few steps away before turning back to look at me. _~Now hurry up Maddy, we need to find Genis and Lloyd and tag along with them to Triet.~_

I got to my feet shakily, still not quite believing. It was a dream, right? I often had weird, freakishly realistic dreams. What the heck, I was in one of my all time favorite games, maybe I could enjoy it. Maybe.

I followed the cat (I was going to have to find a name for her soon...) as she picked her way through the large field we were in, and took the time look myself over. I ran my hands over my ears, and sure enough, they were large and distinctly pointed.

Oh man... I knew next to nothing about the elves. How was I going to explain things? And what about fighting?! Would I have to kill people? The thought of that made me sick to my stomach. I had to stop to calm myself. "I- I can't do this..."

I heard the sigh in my head as the cat stopped and turned to look at me. _~Death is a part of life.~_

_"_Yeah, but I've never had to be the _cause _of it before! I'm not a killer! Heck, I'll proudly put on a French maid outfit and proclaim myself a nanny nurse maid if I thought it would help me take better care of my nephews. I'm a nurturer, I like to take care of people. To put them in the hospital? Or the _morgue_? I don't know how I could handle that..."

~_Well, you won't have to worry about that, there are no hospitals or morgues here. Just healers and cemeteries.-~_

I glared at her, "You know what I mean. Take me home. I'm not doing this."

The cat's eyes narrowed and a chill ran down my spine as I remembered how powerful I had made her. _~I'm sorry, but I think you're under the mistaken impression that you have a choice. I did not have a choice when you tore away everything that was important to me. You know what I am capable of, I can make you do this if necessary; but that would be fun for neither of us._~

We stared at each other for a long while, neither of us relenting. She wasn't going to give, but it didn't matter. I wasn't going to do this. I turned to walk away, but I didn't even get as far as a single step. I froze as my limbs stopped responding to my will.

I would have yelled out in frustration and thrown a tantrum, but I couldn't even control myself to move my eyes. Her mental abilities were everything I had imagined them to be, and in my mind I knew that she was not even trying.

I tried to fight it as I turned back around and started walking along behind the cat. I might as well have been beating against a steal wall.

"I'm perfectly willing to release you, provided you promise to play the game," my voice spoke from my mouth. I didn't answer as I fumed, trapped inside my own head. I'd imagined this before, written of it in the stories from middle school. It had not prepared me for the terror of experiencing it for myself.

"Nothing to say? That's alright. It gives me the opportunity to show you how to fight. You're an archer," she launched into an explanation of something about mana and and my exsphere, but I was trying to ignore her as best I could.

She was purposely using my voice to tell me these things because she knew how disturbing I found it. I was remembering more and more about this character as I spent time with her. It did little to help me warm up to her. She thrived on the pain and suffering of others. All my fuming and seething was like a nice hot fudge sundae with sprinkles to her.

It wasn't until the wolves were leaping out of the foliage that I began to pay attention again. Oh yeah, I was paying attention as the sharp snapping jaws flew at my face. She moved my body with more fluid and grace than I could ever hope to accomplish on my own as she dodged the two wolves coming at me at once.

_~It's not as difficult as you think; with an exsphere you'll find many things easier. Besides, ideally you'll have Lloyd as a meat shield. You're not supposed to be up on the front lines, you'll be shooting from the back or casting magic.~_

_Magic?_ I asked in spite of myself. At least she wasn't using my voice anymore. Also, I couldn't help but be a little curious when she mentioned magic.

_~Of course. You didn't think I'd make you into a magic-less elf, did you? Now pay attention, this will most certainly save your life to know this.~_

Grudgingly, I payed attention as she stepped me out of melee, leaving her cat self to keep the wolves at bay so she could teach me my place on the back line.

She unlatched something I hadn't noticed before on my back and pulled it into view where I could identify it as a bow. It didn't have a string, though, and I was fairly certain I would have noticed arrows on me. Unless they were stored in the pack on my back, but I doubted that.

She chuckled in my head, _~Arrows... how quaint. You're a magical archer, arrows are for humans. Pay attention to the mana, the energy, flowing through you. You need to harness it, and form it into an arrow. There is no string, the arrow is propelled with mana. Here, watch as I do it, and pay attention to the mana flow.~_

She put my fingers to the invisible string on the bow and I watched in wonder as a silvery blue arrow formed at my fingertips. She released it, and it flew straight through the head of one of the wolves.

A normal arrow would have killed it, a shot like that, but I guess mana arrows work differently. Instead, the wolf jerked like I had electrocuted it, a high pitched wail hurt my ears as the arrow passed through it's skull. It faultered for a moment, before righting itself and turning it's full fury on me.

_~Alright, now it's your turn._~

_WHAT?!_

All at once, she left me. I stumbled a bit upon regaining control of my body, but quickly straightened to face the snarling wolf that suddenly seemed a lot more dangerous. I moved to raise my bow as the wolf lunged at me. Oh no... I wasn't going to make it in time... !

"Demon Fang!"

Wolf teeth inches from my face, a familiar wave of energy knocked the wolf away barely in time to save my life. I was frozen in terror as a blur of red ran past me to finish off the wolf. I barely registered the shout of 'Fire Ball!' from behind me that finished off the other wolf.

_!_

_~Maddy... calm down... I knew they were coming, you're not dead.~_

_You... you KNEW? And you didn't TELL ME?! _I raged at her in my head. I was still frozen or else I'm sure my expression would not have been a pleasant one. I was vaguely aware of voices around me, but I was in too much shock. _You did that on purpose! Scaring the living daylights out of me so you could taste my fear?!?_

_~So what if I did? You made me like this. Now snap out of it. Lloyd and Genis are-~_

I was distracted by someone grabbing my shoulders and shaking me roughly and cried out in surprise, blinking at the face of Lloyd Irving in surprise.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he let me go hesitantly.

It took me a moment to find my voice, "Uh... yeah, I think so. Uhm. Thanks, for... you know..." I was babbling, and making little sense, but forgive me for being more than a little frazzled.

"No problem!" Lloyd answered with a grin. His grin looked off, like he was almost forcing it and I wondered at that. "What are you doing out here all by yourself? It's dangerous."

"Uhm, I'm not sure. I think I'm lost," I answered. I had never been a very good liar, so I had made it a point in life to tell as few lies as possible. Besides, it's not like I had to tell them everything. Just enough to answer their questions.

"Lost? You're in the fields outside of Iselia. Where are you trying to get to?"

"Oh, I don't know. I was thinking I'd travel and see the world. Where are you guys heading?" I asked. So far so good, no lies.

"We're going to Triet to meet up with some friends of ours," Lloyd answered.

"Are you an elf?" Genis interrupted suddenly, and I turned to him. He seemed to be eying me warily, a small frown on his mouth. I kind of got the impression that he didn't really like me.

"Yes. I do appear to be an elf. Is... that a problem?" I asked uncertainly.

"No, it's not problem," Lloyd assured me, "Genis is an elf too. Oh, and by the way, my name is Lloyd, and this is my friend Genis. What's your name?"

"Maddy. Well, Madison, but I hate that name. So, Maddy is just fine." Something furry bumped against my leg and I glanced down at the cat that was staring at me pointedly. I sighed. "And this is my cat... uh... Neeko."

_~So... you steal a name from another of your characters to give to me? Yeesh, you're a terrible creator.~_

_Shove it. Right now you're reminding me a lot of Neeko, and I can't just keep calling you 'cat'._

"That's a weird looking cat. Almost as weird as Lloyd's 'dog', Noishe." Genis commented. Ah, right, I'd almost forgotten about Noishe. I never used him when I played the game. I glanced around and spotted the green and white protozoan-dog-thing a little ways off, glaring at me. Great. Noishe and Genis didn't like me. Fantastic.

"Hey! Noishe is a dog!" Lloyd protested, scowling at Genis.

"If you say so, Lloyd."

"Uhm, I don't mean to interrupt, but I don't suppose you'd be willing to let me tag along with you to Triet? As you said, it's pretty dangerous out here and I've never been to Triet. Might be fun to go see?"

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Genis said, looking over at Lloyd. "She'll slow us down, and we need to catch up with Raine and Colette."

"Dwarven vow #2: Never abandon someone in need. Besides, it'll be safer with the three of us," Lloyd replied, and I relaxed. Hooray, I was on the journey!

Wait a second... _What would happen if I chose not to go with them?_

_~I would find a way to make you go. It would not be pleasant for you._~

I shuddered, _I'm really starting to not like you very much. You know that right?_

_~I do. It's okay, I hate you too.~_

"Great!" I said out loud, forcing a smile. "So, which way are we going?" I asked, looking around.

"That way," Genis answered me, pointing off to his right. I nodded, and followed after them as they led the way. Neeko, the evil demon cat, followed behind me. This was going to be a long journey.


	2. Deserts are Hot

**Chapter 2: Deserts are Hot**

The desert was hot. So very, very hot. Like, melt my face hot. Like, I could feel the scorching hot sand through my thick boots burning blisters on the blisters that were already on my feet, hot.

_~Your whining is like a sweet chorus of angels to my ears. Please, cry more. Your tears taste like sweetness.~_

_I really... really... don't like you._

_~And I find your aversion to the word 'hate' amusing. I don't care. You can hate me all you want.~_

_I don't hate you. I don't hate anyone. I pity you, and I really, really, really don't like you, but I don't hate you._

Neeko snorted, _~If you say so.~_

"It's so _hot_!" Lloyd announced for practically the millionth time since we entered the desert.

"I _know_, Lloyd!" Genis snapped at him. Genis had been carefully avoiding me the entire 3 days we'd been traveling together, and I still had no idea why. One of these days I was going to remember to ask him when we stopped to rest instead of falling almost instantly to sleep. Probably.

"How... much longer... do you think it is?" I asked, my voice rasping from dehydration. I had my blue leather jacket thing tied around my waist, and the white tank top I had on underneath was doing little to protect my arms and shoulders from sun exposure. I was pretty sure my skin was redder than a tomato, and I was afraid to touch it to see how bad it was. I might explode or something.

"Dunno," Lloyd answered dully. "It can't be much farther, though. Aw, man. In coming bandits," he announced, pulling out his swords wearily.

I sighed, unlatching the bow from my back. I was getting better, I hardly ever dropped my bow when I got it out anymore. Now I just needed to work on my aim. At least now I knew my arrows wouldn't hurt my friends.

I'd discovered that after one of my arrows had missed and hit Lloyd and passed harmlessly through him. Nearly gave myself a heart attack. Neeko explained something about my mana knowing friends from foes through riotous laughter. It was the same reason Genis' spells didn't affect his friends either.

I focused on one that Lloyd wasn't distracting, taking aim at a caster that was charging a spell. I shot an arrow, and missed, but I was used to that, so I was already readying another one. Not having to pull an arrow from a quiver made my rate of fire so much quicker.

The third shot hit, effectively stopping the spell and bringing the caster to his knees causing the fourth arrow to miss. I changed targets to the guy with the sword on Genis, content to leave the caster to Neeko who'd leapt toward them.

I charged up one of the few techs Neeko had eventually gotten around to telling me about on the second day. I was focusing on the water one, hoping I might make it stronger by using it before we reached the fire temple. That, and I was hoping it might get me wet and make me not so hot.

"Splash Arrow!" I called out as I fired off a much larger arrow made up of water. Well, it wasn't really water, just mana taking on the properties of water. It made it hurt more or something, I really needed to pay more attention to details like that when Neeko explained stuff to me.

Techs tended to miss a lot less than regular shots, but I was still relieved when I actually hit my target on the first shot. It knocked the guy off his feet, leaving him vulnerable to an Aqua Edge from Genis.

The bandits surrendered, and we allowed them to retreat with little fuss. None of us had killed anyone yet, and I got the impression that neither Lloyd nor Genis were much eager than I was to start. We continued trudging are way through the desert, now more tired than before.

"Can't you guys fire a Splash Arrow or Aqua Edge into the air and let it rain on us or something?" Lloyd whined.

I glanced over at Genis, questioningly, but he didn't look my way. I sighed as I took out my bow and aimed up. I barely registered Neeko's hiss of disapproval as she bolted away from us. I fired into the air above us. "Splash Arrow!"

It went up, and the arrow lost form when it hit it's peak, breaking apart into water droplets as it fell down upon us. The water didn't touch us though, and I was reminded that my harmful techs didn't effect me or my friends.

"Well that's a bust," I muttered.

"Tell me about it...," Lloyd groaned in agreement. Genis merely grunted.

_Why'd you run away?_ I asked Neeko in my head.

_~I don't like water. You know this. And... I wasn't sure if you saw me as a friend or enemy.~_  
_Really? I'd have thought you would know, Miss Telepath._

_~Your head is difficult for me to understand. Your values are odd, and I can't quite figure out where I stand with you.~_

I lapsed into silence, as I tried to figure out the answer to that myself. I didn't think I had one.

My thoughts were interrupted as a flicker of something in the distance started becoming increasingly clear as the buildings of a town. I pointed and said, "Oh, hey, I think I see the town."

"Really?" Lloyd asked, squinting into the distance. "I don't see anything."

"Elf, Lloyd. We see farther than humans," Genis explained. His eyes flickered to me nervously for a moment before he returned to ignoring me.

I sighed, _Do you know why Genis is being so weird around me?_

_~Yes, but I'm not going to tell you. If you're smart, you'll figure it out for yourself.~_

_Bah! You're a punk, you know that?_

She didn't bother answering me and I muttered something about dropping her in the lake when we got to Triet as we slowly made our way there.

I had never been so glad to see civilization before in my entire life as we walked into that dingy little desert town. I wanted to go to the inn and use whatever they had that passed for a bath in this world straight away, but as I took a step forward, I was practically tackled to the ground by both Genis and Lloyd.

I was too surprised to resist as they pulled me behind some crates, "Whoa, what's go-"

"Shhh!" Lloyd interrupted, motioning me to be quiet as he peeked between the crates.

I felt stupid as realization slowly dawned on me. Right, wanted poster, Desians. I'd played this game how many times? I copied Lloyd and found my own viewing spot to watch as the Desians left the area leaving a poorly drawn wanted poster of Lloyd on the wall. Seriously, they needed to find a better artist to draw those things, _I_ could draw Lloyd better than that.

_~This is your first time knowing Lloyd is a wanted criminal, Maddy. I'd be ready to reflect that in your reaction if I were you,~_ Neeko warned me

_Snap! Should I be mad...? What...?_

"Man, wanted posters and search parties? They're really serious," Lloyd muttered turning around to face us. I looked over at Genis and he was watching me closely, his grip tight on his kendama.

"So... uh... your wanted by the Desians, then?" I spoke lamely. Lloyd looked up in surprise like he had forgotten I was there, and he probably had judging by the way he glanced between me a Genis before fixing me with a sober expression, I'd say he had forgotten about me.

"Look, please don't freak out. I didn't know... I was just...," Lloyd struggled to explain it, and I was starting to get frightened by the way his hands hovered close to his swords.

I held up my hands defensively, "Let's just calm down, guys. I'm sure you have a perfectly good reason for being on the Desian's bad side. Why don't we just get a room at the inn, and you can explain it to me there?"

Lloyd looked like he was torn, he didn't want to hurt me, but he didn't want to put him and Genis in danger. I sighed.

"I promise I won't try to run. I'm not a fan of the Desians myself, so whatever you did, they probably deserved it," I hesitated, then slowly, as non-threateningly as I could, I unlatched my bow and held it out to Lloyd. "Here, you can take my weapon. I trust you."

That did it. Lloyd's hands fell away from his weapons and he grimaced at the ground, "No, keep your weapon. Sorry, we've just been having a hard time. Let's head to the inn, we can talk about it there."

I nodded as I followed them to the inn. We stopped to examine the wanted poster.

"... Am I this ugly?" Lloyd asked staring at the hideous drawing.

"It's good. They'll never find you with this... I think," Genis responded.

"I dunno... if I squint my eyes and tilt my head like this, it sort of might look like Lloyd," I commented, tilting my head to demonstrate. Lloyd scowled at me as Genis rolled his eyes and continued to the inn.

It was agreed that I would be the one to approach the desk and book a room for the night; seeing as I wasn't currently wanted, and looked old enough to not need parental supervision.

We would have gotten two rooms, but we weren't exactly rolling in gald, and there were four beds to a room anyways. Also, this helped ease their worries of me sneaking off in the middle of the night to turn them into the Desians. I would change into my sleepware in the bathroom after I took my bath.

When we got to our room, I picked out a bed in the middle and dropped my pack on it. I sat down cross-legged on the bed while Genis and Lloyd began telling me about the attack on Iselia and Marble.

When they were done, we sat in silence for a moment. They'd left out all the parts with Colette and the journey of regeneration, but the majority of the story was still there.

"I see," I said after a while. "They turned her into a monster just for talking to you? And burned down most of the village? For your exsphere? That's... crazy." I was trying to think up a good response to all of this.

I glanced up at Lloyd, "Why do they want your exsphere so bad, anyways?"

"I don't know, but they killed my mom to get it, and I'm not going to let them have it." The look in his eyes made me shudder.

I nodded, "Good. They shouldn't be allowed to get away with these things. Well, you don't have to worry about me. I won't say a word. Now, if you don't mind, I'd very much like to take a bath."

I fished my pajamas from my bag and made my way out the door. The bath water was cold, as I expected, but in this heat it was perfect. I took my time scrubbing the sand and sweat out of my hair, and by the time I was done, I felt like myself again. Well, I was still an elf, and there was still an exsphere embedded into the skin on my hand, but at least I was clean.

I came back to our room and shoved my clothes into my bag. Genis was the only one in the room with me, it seemed. "Where's Lloyd?" I asked, curiously.

"He went to go look for our friends," Genis answered.

"And you let him? Isn't he like, wanted or something?" I questioned, "I suppose we should probably go look for him before-"

"Are you going to tell Lloyd about me being a half-elf?" Genis interrupted me.

I froze, my first thought told me that I'd somehow made a mistake and Genis knew something about me; but then, Neeko was quick to point out my stupidity.

_~If you were paying attention, you would have noticed the difference in Genis' mana signature right away. Elves and half-elves can sense a difference between themselves and humans. It was referenced several times in the game.~_

_Oh... yeah... Hey, wait a minute. Where are you? I haven't seen-_

_~I followed Lloyd. You were boring. Now, go answer Genis.~_

I frowned as I sat down on my bed, "Is that what this is all about? And here I thought you had some sort of vendetta against elves or maybe I smelled bad or something. Of course I'm not going to tell Lloyd. That's between you and him. It's none of my business."

I laid back and stared at the ceiling. About this time at home I would be playing video games with my nephews. I missed them. I missed them crawling on top of me and trying to steal my controller while I was in a race on Mario Kart. Or having them erase my save files on Harvest Moon right before my character's baby was born.

Dang, my nephews were little brats now that I'd thought about it. They were adorable brats, and I loved and missed them.

_~Maddy?~_ I heard Neeko call out to me and I frowned.

_Yeah?_

_~You... might want to come out here for a bit. Bring Genis too. Don't forget your weapons.~_

_What? Now? I'm in my pajamas..._

I didn't get an answer and that made me anxious. I grabbed my clothes and bow and stood up.

"I'm going to get changed so we can go look for Lloyd," I told Genis as I headed towards the bathroom again. I got about three steps down the hall when I heard the muffled commotion outside.

"Genis!" I called out as I dropped my clothes and reached for my bow, "Come quick! Lloyd's in trouble!" I heard Genis behind me as I leapt the banister and dropped down to the floor below. It wasn't a long drop, about eight or nine feet, but even with my exsphere I still managed to stumble and drop my bow.

I scrambled to my feet, snatching my bow as I ran outside in my pajamas. Lloyd was out there, trying his best to fight off four Desians. He looked a little cut up and battered, but otherwise not so bad considering the four on one odds. Neeko was at his feet, hissing at the enemies in warning.

I moved out of the doorway to let Genis through as I readied an arrow to shoot at the caster. I didn't get to fire as a Desian with a sword came at me, and I barely managed to stumble backwards away from his attack.

Neeko leapt on the guy before he could attack again and I hastily shot a few arrows at close range that rendered him unconscious. Genis and Lloyd were quick to finish the last of them before I could even turn to aim.

"Heh. All talk," Lloyd boasted confidently.

Genis snorted, "Lloyd, don't let your guard down, or you'll regret it."

Some red flags waved off in my mind as I came over to stand next to Lloyd. There was something very familiar about this whole scene. I would have tried harder to figure it out, but I was thinking about how much I'd rather be inside at that moment seeing as I was still in my pajamas.

"I'm not letting my guard down," Lloyd replied to Genis, shaking his head, "It's just that they were so..."

I suddenly remembered this scene in the game and as Lloyd said the word 'pitiful' I whirled around to see the Desian (or Renegade?) caster finish his lightning spell. I opened my mouth to cry out a warning, but not before the lightning hit me and Lloyd.

Pain shot through me, intense pain. It was so much worse than that one time my arm had brushed some exposed wiring sticking out of a wall at my friend's house. It overwhelmed my senses and could feel myself losing consciousness as it ended.

The last thing I heard as the darkness claimed me was Genis' small pitiful, "Please don't hurt me..."

* * *

_Author's Note - There we go, I'm trying to move the story along fairly quickly. I hope it's not going too fast. Next chapter is the pajama adventures in the renegade base! Not really, but I like to call it that. :D_

_Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope to see you next chapter. Please review! _

_-Pyroth Tenka  
_


	3. What Else Would You Name a Bow?

**Chapter 3:**

The first thing I noticed was the sharp jab of someone trying to poke me awake. The second was the pain. Oh so much pain. I groaned and rolled away from the offensive poking that was causing me more pain. I was sick, great. I hated being sick. I'd have to call in sick to work, and that would mean having to get up to call.

The poking didn't stop and I growled, "G'way! I'll bite yo 'ead off..." Yeah, I didn't really make sense in the mornings. They probably wanted me to take the baby while they dropped people off at work.

"Maddy, you need to get up..." Something was off about the voice, but I didn't care. I was sick, someone else would have to take care of the baby this morning.

"Go away! I'm sick, I can't take Noah today!"

"Noah? Who's Noah?"

I shot up straight as realization dawned on me, and then immediately regretted it.

"GRAAAH!" I grabbed my head with my hands and cradled it gently. It felt like someone was pounding on my head with a hammer. Or many hammers. "Head... hurt... ... Lloyd?"

"Yeah, my head hurt too. I don't think it was as bad as yours though." He paused before adding, "Who's Noah?"

I sighed as the pain began to ebb. "My baby nephew. Where are we, and what's going on, Lloyd?" I asked to keep him from questioning further.

"I don't know. There are Desians everywhere though, and they were talking about an execution. I think we should get out of here."

"I agree. Now, how do you propose we do that?" I asked skeptically. In the game, Lloyd used the sorcerer's ring to escape, but I didn't see how that was possible here. The guard wasn't even pacing. He was just standing at the end of the hall looking bored.

The throb in my head was lessening somewhat as I stood up to get a full look at things. We were in a cell. They had taken all our equipment and weapons, and I was still in my pajamas. Well, boo.

"Uhm," Lloyd bit his lip, looking around uncertainly.

While he thought about it, I went to work remembering what happened in this place. I kicked myself for not remembering about Lloyd getting kidnapped by the Renegades. So, if everything went according to plan, we'd escape, make our way through the ranch, find Yuan, and then meet up with the others and have a fight with Botta.

I really wished my head would stop pounding. It was making it difficult for me to think, and I tended to be cranky when I was in pain. I wasn't looking forward to the fight with Botta, that curvy sword-thing he wielded looked painful.

_~Isn't the point of a weapon to be painful?~_

_Neeko? _I asked in surprise, sitting up.

_~Are there any other voices that talk to you in your head like I do? Cheh, it's all your fault you guys are stuck there. They had to up the security of your cell because you're an elf and you can cast magic. You would have obliterated the other cell. Assuming you'd actually try to use any magic. You haven't so far.~_

_Eh, they took my bow away. I can't use magic without my bow._

I heard Neeko sigh in my head and I raised an eyebrow. _~You use mana to cast magic, they can't take away your mana unless they kill you. You don't need the bow to use magic, it's just helpful to channel it. It uses less mana.~_

_So... I could just fireball this cage?_

_~You could try, but fireballs aren't really your specialty. You specialize in projectile bolts, it would be more like your Flame Shot tech. Though, I wouldn't try that unless your goal were to singe you and Lloyd. The cell is warded against magical attacks; hence why they placed you here.~_

_Bah. Then are we stuck here?_

_~Don't be stupid. Where's the fun in that? Just be a little patient.~_

_Patient. Right. Stupid cat._

Her only response was a soft chuckle and I stood up to see how Lloyd was doing. He was bent over the lock on the bars fiddling with a thin metal wire of some sort. Where did he find a wire? Man, people always give him flack for being dumb; but for a dumb guy, he sure was resourceful.

"Any luck?" I asked.

He grunted in response which I took as a negative before sitting back down on the bed-bench thing I had been lying on.

It was a moment before Lloyd straightened up and frowned, looking down the hall. I stood up again to see what he was staring at and blinked in surprise to see Neeko padding towards us away from a now unconscious guard.

"Your cat is a little scary, you know that?" Lloyd told me, shaking his head.

"You have no idea," I replied as we watched Neeko pad over to our cell. In her mouth was the key card for the lock. She dropped the card at my feet and then proceeded to clean herself.

_~There. Now get yourself out.~_

I sighed and picked up the card. It took a bit of stretching, but I managed to find the key slot and slide in the key. The door flew open immediately. If they were smart, they would have had a password too; but, lucky for us, Yuan was either greatly underestimating humans, or he was lazy. I suspected a combination of both.

Lloyd took the lead as we escaped from the cell and snuck down the halls. I didn't like the clean look of the ranch, but at least exspheres weren't manufactured here and I didn't have to go through the horror of seeing that. I wasn't looking forward to that part of the game.

The going was surprisingly clear, but I guessed Yuan and the Renegades had less staff than the Desians. That's not to say we didn't see anyone, but we were pretty good at finding random rooms to duck into whenever we heard anyone coming.

We found our stuff not far from our cell. There were little storage lockers and I found my bow and Lloyd found all his stuff. I hugged my bow, "D'aww I missed you. I should give you a name. Lloyd, what's a good name for a bow?"

Lloyd gave me an odd look before answering, "I don't know. Uh, Bowie?"

I stared at him for a moment before grinning. "That's an excellent idea! David it is. After David Bowie. C'mon Davey, we've a prison to escape!"

"You're so weird," Lloyd told me as we made our way to the door opposite us.

As soon as it opened, we were face to face with a Renegade patrol. It was a good thing I had my bow already in my hand. Lloyd charge forward, pulling out his swords as I conjured up a mana arrow for my bow.

From then on it was a blur of fighting, running and hiding. At one point, one of the Renegades got past Lloyd and I was forced to defend myself. It didn't work out so well. I moved to block the sword with my bow, but it only glanced off and stabbed my leg.

I cried out in pain as he pulled his sword out and my leg collapsed out from under me. Pain inflamed my leg and it was hard to ignore it and fight for my survival. I barely managed to keep a grip on my bow as I brought it up to block the next attack.

I blocked successfully, but the Renegade kicked my bow out of my hands. I couldn't move to dodge, so I threw my arms up in a futile attempt to block. It was a stupid idea, I knew, I'd just have the misery of feeling my arms get sliced up before I died.

The blow never struck my arms, and I dared a peek past to see the Renegade frantically trying to fend off an angry Lloyd. Lloyd was kind of scary when he was upset, he had a dangerous look in his eye as he Tiger Bladed that Renegade into the floor.

With the Renegades unconscious Lloyd turned to me, worried. "You okay, Maddy? Sorry, he just slipped past me and-"

"It's okay," I hissed through the pain in my leg, "I'm alright, I don't think I can walk too far though."

He grabbed my bow and returned it to me, glancing up and down the hall for signs of enemies. "We can't stay here, do you need help? It looks like there's a door here, maybe we can hide there for a bit."

He stood up and went to go check out the door while I examined the extent of my wound. Neeko came over and sat next to me.

_~You're lucky you weren't killed.~_

_Not like you care. It might be entertaining to watch me die, _I snapped at her.

She didn't respond, just stared at my bleeding leg thoughtfully. Lloyd was back soon, and he helped me up. Together, he helped me hobble over to the little storage closet he found.

"We can't stay here long, do you think you'll be able to walk well enough to get out?" Lloyd asked me anxiously.

"I don't know," I replied, biting my lip. I reached down and started tearing off strips from my pajama pants. Maybe if I bound the leg tight enough it would hold my weight... man, if only we had a heal spell or something! I was starting to get frustrated. I'd mess up the whole game if Lloyd didn't escape and I knew he wouldn't leave me.

_~Actually, you're wrong. You could probably convince Lloyd to leave if you mentioned Genis needing him, and that wrap is not going to hold your weight. Also, you're wrong about the heal spell too...~ _Neeko trailed off looking away from me.

_What? You mean... I have a heal spell? _I asked incredulously. _Why didn't you tell me?!?_

Neeko sighed, _~It was entertaining. Why do I have to keep repeating myself?~_

_You... you're... Bah! Alright, how do I cast it?_

_~The same way you cast all your other spells.~_

_So... it's a healing arrow?_ _I shoot someone and it heals them? Wow. I can't decide if that's just stupid or awesome. Great, so how do I cast it on myself? It sounds complicated, if not impossible, to shoot myself._

_~Form the arrow, don't shoot it. Just let it form and dissolve into you._~

_Got it._ I had a heal spell? Awesome! I'd always wanted to be a healer. Who cared if it was idiotic that I shot people and it healed them? I had a heal spell! Yay! I wasted no time grabbing my bow and preparing the spell.

_~It's called Heal Shot by the way.~_

_Lame. Are all my spells going to have stupid names?_

_~Yes, because it amuses me.~_

Shaking my head, I finished conjuring the glowing, green arrow and muttered Heal Shot softly. Lloyd watched me in surprise as the green arrow dispersed and the spell wrapped itself around my leg. Immediately I noticed the pain lessen and sighed in relief. It didn't heal all the way, it still hurt when I moved it, but it definitely felt better.

I hesitantly got to my feet, testing my weight on the leg carefully before trusting it. I could walk. Good. I wasn't going to ruin the game, yay! Or die. Yeah, cause not dying was important too.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Neither did I until now. Nifty," I replied, stomping my foot. Ow. Better not do that again.

"Great, we should move on then."

"Good plan."

Lloyd led the way, as always, as we left the room. I was starting to get sick of all these shiny metal walls around us. Not to mention the few security cameras I spotted on the ceilings. I would have shot them, but that would have aroused suspicion from the people watching the monitors as well as Lloyd, so I mostly just ignored them.

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" I asked after we'd been wandering for a while.

Lloyd shrugged. "No. Do you?"

"Nope."

We both sighed as we came to a door and Lloyd opened it. What was on the other side made us freeze in our tracks.

"Whoa," Lloyd commented.

"Uh... wrong door?" I added.

The dozen or so Renegades in the control room in front of us all turned to us in surprise.

"Hey you! What are you kids doing here?!" One of the shouted, starting towards us.

Lloyd and I had already silently agreed that running would be the best course of action at that moment and bolted back the way we came. Lloyd was faster than me, of course, and I could only struggle to follow him as he ducked down a side corridor and threw open a door at random.

I vaguely registered little alarm bells going off in my head at the whole scene as Lloyd pulled me into the room, and quickly shut the door. "Phew. that was close."

As I gasped for breath, the alarm bells grew stronger. Oh. Right. Yuan.

"And just who the hell are you?"

Lloyd whirled around, hands on his sword as I turned around more slowly. I was too tired to go any faster, and it was just Yuan. It wasn't like we had to fight him. Though, he was aiming a nasty looking spell at us, did that happen in the game?

"Give me your name, and I shall give you mine," Lloyd answered. It sounded even more cheesy in real life than it did in the game, if that was even possible. I just tried my best to blend into the wall as the familiar scene unfolded around me.

Yuan smirked, "Hahaha! You certainly have guts, but I'm afraid I don't see the need to introduce myself to a miserable little creature like you."

"What a coincidence, cause I don't see a need to introduce myself either to a moron who doesn't realize how pathetic he is."

"Why you little...!"

You know what I'd just realized? I was still in my pajamas. Yeah. The first thing the rest of the party gets to see of me, when they get here in about a minute or so, is me in my raggedy, blood-stained pajamas. Man, I sucked at first impressions.

Oh snap. I was going to meet Kratos soon. I mean, Lloyd and Genis were one thing, but convincing Kratos and Raine to let me on the journey? How was I supposed to do that?

_~You think too much. Worry about that when the time comes. As for now, I'd be ready because Botta is about to enter.~_

I didn't get to respond because Botta did, in fact, chose that very moment to barge into the room; narrowly interrupting Lloyd from foolishly charging at Yuan head first. Silly Lloyd. Yuan would eat your face in a fight right now.

"Sir, we've received reports that the Chosen's group has infiltrated the facility," Botta spoke, urgency in his tone. He glanced curiously at Lloyd and me, and Lloyd glared back at him.

"You... you're the Desian that attacked Iselia!"

"So you're Lloyd. Now this is amusing," Botta answered him, a small smile on his face.

"Botta! I'm leaving for now. Our plans will be ruined if he sees me," Yuan announced, suddenly turning for the door.

"What of the Chosen?" Botta asked.

"I'll leave that to you."

"Understood."

"Lloyd, the next time we meet, you're mine. Just you wait," Yuan told Lloyd as he paused to glare at him before leaving in a hurry. That just left me, Lloyd, Botta, and about four or five Renegades. So... Kratos, Genis, Colette? Now would be a perfect time to enter the room.

Lloyd glanced anxiously at me as the Renegades moved to surround us. I bit my lip as I readied my bow. At my feet, Neeko remained calm; watching the closest Renegade curiously as he slowly moved closer.

The door behind me and Lloyd opened and, much to my relief, in rushed Kratos, Genis and Colette.

"Lloyd!" Genis called out, running to his best friend and wrapping his arms around him. "Are you okay?"

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Colette asked anxiously.

Oh, hey Genis. Collette. I'm fine too, by the way. Just saying. In case you were worried.

Not that I really blamed them, it would just be nice to be recognized at least a little. Then Kratos glanced at me and I changed my mind. I'd rather have been invisible at that moment.

Kratos looked away, his face unreadable as he spoke to the others, "He looks fine."

"You guys all came for us?" Lloyd spoke, looking around them in awe. Awww, someone was thinking of me. Movement caught my attention and I turned to see Botta raise his curvy-sword-thing.

"Uh, guys. Less chit-chat and more stabbing faces," I commented, backing up and raising my bow. "Enemies are still here."

Kratos was the first to react, drawing his sword and moving to engage Botta first. Lloyd wasn't far behind him and Colette came after him. I stood in back with Genis. Yessir, us pansy casters had to stick together.

Fight. Yeah. Focus.

I conjured up arrows and began shooting one of the Desian casters. I'd played many games, always take the casters first, especially the healers; or, at the very least, keep them from casting.

It wasn't long into the fight before I decided I liked Kratos. Lloyd too. Together they made very good meat shields. Fighting worked much smoother with all of us. Kratos took on Botta, Lloyd kept the other melee at bay, and Genis and I kept the casters busy. We had a neat system going.

There was a loud crack after a while, as Kratos sundered Botta's weapon and Botta tossed it aside.

"I underestimated your abilities," Botta scowled as he, and what was left of his men, retreated out the other door. Kratos would have followed, but the door was locked from the other side.

I sat down on the floor, exhausted, as I watched Raine enter the room from the hall way and go straight to Botta's broken weapon and examine it.

"Isn't this a...?"

"Professor!" Lloyd exclaimed cheerfully when he noticed her.

"Ah, Lloyd. Genis told me what happened." Raine glanced over at her brother before looking back at Lloyd. "I apologize for the trouble he's caused you."

"No, I'm the one that dragged Genis into it. I'm sorry. You too, Maddy. You wouldn't have been captured if you weren't with me." The guilt in his eyes made me feel guilty.

"Not your fault, Lloyd," I assured him. I placed the blame solely on Neeko. Stupid cat.

"Save the chit chat for later," Kratos interrupted, "We shouldn't stay here long."

Rained sighed, turning to the door. "You're right. I opened the escape route just now. Let's go."

We all filed out after Raine. Genis, then Colette and Lloyd, I came after Lloyd. Much to my discomfort, Kratos was right behind me. Ugh. I swear his eyes were boring holes in the back of my head, but that was probably just my imagination.

_Baaaah... I have to talk to them soon. Can't I just go home? _I complained to Neeko.

_~No.~_

_Meanie..._

_

* * *

_

_Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, it wasn't letting me upload the chapter for some reason._

_I do not currently have a beta for this fic, so forgive any errors. My sister (Serrith on fanfiction) and I go over it once each, but I don't feel that it gets the job done quite right._

_Anyways, enjoy this chapter and I hope to hear from you all in a review._

_-Pyroth  
_


	4. Crochet Hooks and Tic Tac Toe

**Chapter 4:**** Crochet Hooks and Tic Tac Toe****  
**

The dread of having to explain myself to Kratos and Raine was momentarily over ridden by my sheer joy of having my stuff back. We went straight to the inn as soon as we got to town, and, miraculously, all my stuff was still there.

I scooped up my clothes from their spot on the floor and went straight to the bathroom to change. I also took another bath while I was in there. I wasn't procrastinating the inevitable. Nope, not at all.

When I came out I felt like a new person again. No more ripped and bloodied pajamas! Yay! Though, now I needed new pajamas. Good thing in my bag was a small amount of gald. Neeko hadn't left me completely unprepared. Speaking of my bag, I still had to go through it to see what all I had.

It was with that thought that I walked down the hall towards our room. I nearly collided with Lloyd as he was exiting. "Oh, hey Lloyd."

"Hey, uh, me and Genis already told the Professor about how we met you and stuff. So...," he trailed off uncomfortably. "Anyways, I've got to go fix this keycrest. See you later." He waved as he passed me; leaving me to wonder if something was wrong.

Hey, at least Genis and Lloyd had saved me some explanation. That was useful. I stepped into the room and glanced around at Kratos, Raine, Genis and Colette. "So... where am I sleeping?"

"With Colette and me in here," Raine answered. "Madison, what are your plans after this?"

I stopped, pausing to think, "I'm not sure... I was going to wait to decide until tomorrow."

"I was thinking it might be best if you traveled with us for a while," Raine told me softly. My eyes widened as I stared at her in surprise. I glanced over at Neeko thinking that she had something to do with this, but the cat was feigning sleep on one of the beds.

"After what happened today," Raine continued, and I returned my attention to her, "the Desians will probably be after you because of your involvement with Lloyd. Genis said you were planning on traveling the world and undoubtedly you will run into Desians. It wouldn't be safe by yourself. We feel responsible for this, and think it's safest for you to travel with us."

_Did you do this?_ I asked Neeko.

_~Maybe a bit. I wanted to make sure there was no chance of you escaping this journey.~_

_Yay me. You're so thoughtful. _

I managed to keep my expression carefully neutral, as if I were thinking it over_, _as I had my brief conversation with Neeko.

"I didn't think about the possibility of the Desians being after me," I told Raine uncertainly. "I don't really mind coming with you, though. Actually, I was going to ask to tag along with Lloyd and Genis after we reached Triet. However, I don't think you've told me yet what you guys are traveling for."

"It's not exactly a secret, but Colette is the chosen of mana," Raine began explaining. "We're escorting her on the journey of regeneration. It's a dangerous journey, but I think it would be safer than to be on your own with the Desians after you."

"Journey of regeneration? That's great! Not only do I get to travel the world, but save it too? I can deal with that," I told them sounding a great deal more confident than I felt.

"This isn't a game, you know," Kratos spoke up from his spot in the corner. I fought to keep my face straight at the comment while I thought up an appropriate and truthful response. The look I was getting from Kratos helped me stay serious.

"Don't worry, I'm not taking this lightly. I just try not to worry about things I can't do anything about. Keeps me sane, you know? Anyway, what are we doing tomorrow?" I asked, trying to shift the subject away from me. The less I had to talk about myself, the less likely I'd make a mistake. Eventually I would have to answer some awkward question or other, but I'd done pretty well avoiding those up to now.

"To the Triet ruins," Raine answered me, her eyes going glassy for a moment before continuing. "The first seal should be there. In the mean time, we should all get ready for bed."

Taking the hint, Kratos and Genis left the room to wherever they were sleeping. I picked one of the beds that didn't seem to be taken and plopped down on it. Neeko came over to join me.

I ignored her as she curled up next to me, and I grabbed my bag from the floor and went through it. Mostly useful stuff, some rope, small sewing kit, some food, spare clothes; no spare pajama pants, unfortunately, but something surprised me as I dug around the bottom.

I pulled out a ball of red yarn and attached to it was a small metal crocheting hook. I stared at it for a moment before looking over at Neeko. _Did you put this in here?_

_~Who else would do it?~ _Neeko huffed back at me.

_D'aww evil demon kitty has a heart!_ I told her as I picked her up and gave her a hug. Demon or not, she was soft and fluffy. Raine and Colette glanced over at my sudden display of emotion, but Raine shrugged and lost interest. Colette came over and sat on the side of her bed closest to me.

_~Release me or die,~ _Neeko growled at me in my head; but before I could put her down, Colette held out her hands. After only a brief moment of consideration, I passed Neeko over to her.

"Wow, your cat is really soft!" Colette exclaimed happily as she also hugged and cuddled the severely annoyed demon.

_~Slow and painful deaths are coming to the both of you.~_

I laughed in my head, and grinned at Colette as I picked up my yarn and hook and began crocheting. "Yeah, isn't she? I don't think she likes being cuddled very much though," I told Colette as Neeko twisted out of her hands and stormed out the doorway.

_~I won't forget this.~_ Neeko hissed at me as she turned to glare at me before disappearing around the corner.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare your cat away," Colette said as she watched me form my chain of slip knots.

I shrugged, "It's alright. Neeko needs to learn to be more friendly to others anyways."

"What are you doing?"

"Crocheting," I told her, "It relaxes me and helps me organize my thoughts. Also, I can make really cute hats. Here, hold still for a sec." I held the chain up to the side of her head to get a measure of about how tall the hat should be before going back to looping slip knots. Just a little bit taller.

"That's neat! I wish I could make hats."

"I could teach you. It's pretty easy, just time consuming," I offered, then frowned. "But I don't know where we'll get another hook. I only have the one."

"Oh yeah. Oh! I know! Maybe Lloyd could make one!" Colette suggested, "He's pretty good at making small metal items like this."

"Huh, yeah, that might work." I nodded as the logic sank in. I focused back on my crocheting. I was making a hat for Lloyd, I decided.

"So, your name is Madison, right?" Colette asked after a while.

"Maddy," I corrected automatically.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Maddy. Where are you from Maddy?"

I hesitated as I put my crocheting down. "Uhm, I'd rather not talk about where I come from if at all possible. See, certain events have sent me away from my home and I can't go back. That's why I'm traveling Sylvarant, to find some way to go home. It might be impossible, but I'm going to try. Anyway, it's not really important, but I'll start to miss it if I talk about home, so I don't want to talk about it now. Maybe later, but not now, please."

"Oh, sorry! I didn't know," Colette apologized, "That's terrible that you can't go home. Is there anything we can do to help?"

The genuine concern in Colette's eyes made me feel extremely guilty that I was partially deceiving her. All of what I had said was true, but I still felt bad about not being able to tell her the whole truth. I could tell Raine was listening to our conversation as she sat reading a book in the corner. I wasn't sure what she thought of my story, but I hoped I didn't sound suspicious.

"It's alright, Colette. Regenerating the world is way more important than my silly little problem. Besides, maybe I'll figure something out on the way. You never know," I assured her, picking up my crocheting again.

"Well, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know," Colette told me. I just nodded as I tried to focus on looping the yarn.

Colette got up to go to the bathroom and get ready for bed after that, and I was left to ponder what I was going to do without pajamas. Sleep in my clothes? That didn't sound comfortable.

"Genis told me about how you didn't tell Lloyd about us being half-elves. Thank you," Raine spoke softly. I turned to her and shrugged.

"It's not my secret to tell," I said simply. After that was some awkward silence while we waited for Colette to get back. Dang awkward silences. I was glad when Colette came back with her cute pink jammies. Made me jealous a bit though.

We were all getting ready to turn in, and I was deciding I'd have to sleep in my clothes, when there was a knock at the door. Hmmm, if my memory was correct, this should be Lloyd with the keycrest. Glad to know I could remember _some_ parts of the game.

"Lloyd," I heard Raine comment, mildly surprised.

"Hey Professor," Lloyd greeted, "I finished fixing the keycrest."

"Already? I'm grateful, but you really shouldn't have gone through all that trouble. We have a long journey ahead of us, you should be resting."

"It was no trouble. You can have Genis show you how to use it later."

"Or me. I use an exsphere too!" I piped up from my spot on the bed. I swear Lloyd paled slightly when he heard my voice. Oh no. Did I do something wrong? Did Lloyd hate me? Did he blame me for him getting captured?

Anxious, I called to him, "Hey, Lloyd,come here for a sec."

As he came over and stood by my bed, I stood up and held my crocheting up to his head. He stared at me like I was crazy as I sighed and pulled the hook out of the loop and began unraveling it. "Too short. Dang. Anyway, what's up? Why do you look like I might bite your head off at any moment?" I asked casually.

He grimaced, "Sorry, it's just.. it's all my fault you're getting chased by Desians, and I won't blame you if you hate me. I'm just so sorry for dragging you into this. Putting you in danger-"

"Lloyd," I interrupted, suddenly very serious, "I want you to know something about me. I have four siblings, and two parents. I've never lived in a house with less than five people in it for any extended period of time since I could remember. I hate being alone. Also, I hate it when my friends or family avoid me. So I want make it abundantly clear when I say, don't ever try to avoid me. If you have a problem, come talk to me about it, please. I nearly had a heart attack when you were upset at the sound of my voice."

I sighed in relief before going on, "As for the whole Desian thing, don't worry about it. Actually, it's a bit fortunate for me because now I get to travel with a large group. Like I said, I hate being alone the most, so I'm happier this way."

"Still, you're in danger, and it's all my fault." Lloyd persisted. I shrugged.

"Eh, probably. I forgive you, though, so it doesn't matter. Now stop making me sad by blaming yourself and cheer up already. Hey look, I'm making you a hat!" I announced suddenly, holding my new string of slipknots up to his head. Yes, a good size this time.

"Uhm, that's not a hat, that's a string," Lloyd argued frowning at me.

"It will be a hat by the time I'm through with it. Now shoo, it's bed time and you're most definitely not sleeping here." I sat back down on my bed and began the second row, ignoring any of Lloyd's further attempts to get my attention. I was done with this discussion.

Lloyd said a quick good night to the three of us before slipping out the door and back to his own room. Or possibly to meet Kratos. If I hadn't been so wary of Kratos at that moment I might have tried to spy on them; but for the time being, it was late, and I was tired. Bed sounded good, so I slept.

~*~

The next morning was hell. Whoever had taught Kratos that five in the morning was the optimal time to wake up needed to be shot and then dragged into a fire. It was probably Yuan, now that I'd thought about it. Not that that did much to make me take back my previous sentiment.

We were taking a short respite in the desert on our way to the ruins. I was lying on my back, not caring about the sand saturating my hair. I was exhausted and so very tired. At least I'd managed to get a new pair of jammie pants in Triet before we left. Not that that did me any good now.

I considered getting my crocheting out and working on that hat for Lloyd, but I didn't want to move. "Bah! I hate the desert. I've decided this," I announced suddenly.

"Me too," Lloyd spoke up from his own little spot in the sand.

We didn't have the energy to talk much, but at least at the pace Kratos was setting we'd get to the the fire seal by the end of the day. Maybe camp outside it and venture in in the morning. Unless Kratos was insane and wanted us to get through it tonight. Which he very well might do.

The scorching sand was starting to get uncomfortable through my clothing, so I sat up. Oh, hey, I had enough energy to unscrew the top from my cantine of water. Yay.

"How much farther is it?" I asked, screwing the top back on my water after taking a sip. My legs felt like flaming jello. I was not looking forward to walking more.

"We should be there in a few hours if we don't take another rest," Kratos answered me. He didn't even look tired. He was the only one of us still standing. Jerk-face.

_Baaah... Can't we just skip all the walking and go straight to the temple?_

_~Sure, the monsters inside the temple nibbling on your shredded corpses should be more interesting than this endless sandbox. Though, your new friends would probably get a little freaked out being __suddenly teleported like that. So, I guess not._~

_Yay, sarcasm. I was only kidding. Mostly._ I sighed as I turned to see what everyone else was doing. Raine was reading a book, Genis and Colette were chatting away happily, and Lloyd was lying in the sand nearby.

I kicked Lloyd. Not hard; more like a nudge with my foot that made him grunt.

"I'm bored. Make me unbored."

He sighed as he sat up. "Ugh, what do you have in mind?"

"I dunno. What do you want to do?"

"I don't know. What do you-"

"Wait, wait, wait. Let's just stop this here," I interrupted him before we could get into an endless loop. As amusing as that would be, everyone was already annoyed enough without us pushing them over the edge and making them kill us all in a homicidal rage.

I crossed my legs and began drawing in the sand. The ever familiar 3x3 tic-tac-toe board. I drew an 'X' in the center and then glanced at Lloyd expectantly. He stared back at me blankly and I heaved a sigh.

"C'mon, you don't know tic-tac-toe? Bah, alright. There are two players, the 'X's and the 'O's. X always goes first, and the object is to get 3 X's or O's in a row. Diagnally, horizontally or vertically. You're O, it's your turn. Draw a circle in a box of your choice."

He hesitated before using his finger to draw a circle in one of the corners, and I quickly scratched an 'X' in the corner opposite his. The one that was blocked from being immediately useful by his 'O'. He frowned at the logic of this, but drew another circle right next to his earlier one. I smiled as he fell into my trap; I placed an 'X' in the corner that would block his win and secure mine.

He moved to draw a circle to block my win, but he paused. There were now two ways I could win. He scowled and drew the circle in one of the places, and I quickly drew my last 'X'.

"I win," I announced.

"Hmph. Let me try again," he demanded. I shrugged and drew a new board; placing my 'X' in the center like before. This time he took two corners and the game ended in a draw.

"Nice," I commented smiling, "But now I'll play for real." I drew the board again, but placed the 'X' in the corner instead of the center. Lloyd frowned as he tried to figure out my move. There was no refuting the strategic advantage of the center box.

He shrugged, and took the center box for himself. I took the corner opposite my other corner, and he predictably took a corner hoping to thwart my claim on the corners but instead sealed his own doom. I blocked his potential win by claiming the last corner and then sat back to see how long it would take him to figure out my win. It didn't take long.

"Ugh! You cheat."

"You're right. The game will always favor the person who goes first. If you play smart, the person who goes second will never win. If both players are smart, none of them will ever win."

"Kind of like in life," Lloyd commented.

"Huh?"

"Well, sometimes somebody wins, but usually nobody wins. That's why it's best to work together. If you're all X's and there aren't any O's, then everyone wins."

"Huh. You know, I'm sure there's a really deep metaphor hidden somewhere in what you just said... probably..."

"Really?"

"Eh, no. Not really."

* * *

_Author's Note: Uhm... not really much to say. Looks like things are starting to settle down into the intended plot. Should be good times ahead. Next stop, Fire Seal! Woot._

_-Pyroth  
_


	5. Fire Seals are Filled With Burning

**Chapter 5:**** Fire Seals are Filled With Burning**

You know when I said the desert was hot? Like, melt my face hot? Yeah. The seal was worse. Way worse. Like, molten lava dripping down the walls and if you get too close it'll burn your eyebrows off, hot.

Fortunately, Genis and I had ice spells. They did little to cool us off directly, but when used on the walls, it did wonders. The ice didn't last long against the sheer amount of heat, but it at least took most of the edge off. It made walking bearable.

_I bet you're just peachy in this heat._ I muttered to Neeko, too lazy to talk vocally to anyone else. They probably weren't much up to it either.

_~I am enjoying it, yes. It makes you miserable, and that makes me less miserable.~_

_Les Mis? I could totally go for a round of One Day More or something... _

_~Heat does very curious things to human brains.~_

_One day more... another day another destiny... this never ending road to calvary..._

_~Ugh, not curious anymore.~_

_These men who seem to know my crime will surely come a second time... one day more... I did not live until today... Oh, hey! I can do the harmonies in my head!... how can I live when we are parted..._

_~Can't you just go back to being miserable?~_

_LES MISERABLE! One day more... tomorrow you'll be worlds away... _

"What are you humming?"

I glanced over at Colette who was looking at me curiously. "Uh, sorry, I didn't realize I had been humming."

"I thought it was pretty. What song was it?"

I sighed, "It's called 'One Day More,' it's a song in a series of songs that tell a story about love and war. It's both romantic and one of the most tragic stories I've heard of."

"Are there words to it?"

"Yeah, but most of them have intricate harmonies that I can't sing by myself. Particularly that song. I think it has like eight or nine parts to it. Anyways, it's probably a bad idea to sing here were there are lot's of enemies. I'm not particularly fond of being ambushed by monsters."

"Monsters!" I heard Lloyd call out from somewhere ahead of us and I sighed, unlatching my bow.

"Alright, let's get this over with." I was getting better with my aim. I'd been practicing when I wasn't too tired to stand. Which wasn't all that often. To be honest, my best practice was in actual combat. Threat of life and limb was a fast teacher.

I didn't fire much else beyond just normal mana arrows, I was saving my mana for the last fight. We had more than enough fighters to handle these monsters without my spells. It was actually pretty boring being in the back with Genis and Raine, though I think I preferred boring to being up front. Those spinning rotating orbs of fire did not look like fun to be in melee with.

Actually, most of the monsters in the fire seal did not seem fun to melee; what with the vast majority of them being on fire and all. I tried to work on speeding up my firing rate as I shot rabidly to keep a fire bird too busy to set fire to Lloyd's back.

Then the bird turned to me.

"Oh snap." I think I actually managed to fire faster than I ever had before at that point. Still, it came closer and I had to stop firing to run. "Ahh! Help!"

I saw a flash of purple run past me and heard the screech of the fire bird dying behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to confirm Kratos' kill before coming to a stop.

"Phew, thanks for that," I told him as I checked to see how Lloyd was doing and if he needed a heal spell.

"Learn to be more careful. Your foolishness is going to get someone killed," he snapped at me before rushing off to go help Lloyd. Jerk.

_I'm surprised, I'd have thought Kratos would be more suspicious of me, but he just ignores me for the most part._ I thought to Neeko as I joined in the helping of Lloyd; not that he really needed it.

_~He _is _suspicious of you. I have to redirect his thoughts every half hour or so. Not that I mind, his thoughts are by far the most delicious. Every time he sees Lloyd he replays the events of Anna's death, and the pain that accompanies it is only getting stronger. He acts all tough and composed but in his head he's confused, and it gets worse with every passing moment.~_

_...really? _I thought in surprise as they finished off the last monster. Kratos sheathed his sword like fighting monsters was just a part of everyday life and continued leading the way through the ruins like always. His face was passive, almost bored. I couldn't even imagine him confused or hurt.

Neeko padded along at my side as we followed Kratos. _~Everybody gets confused or hurt; some are just better at hiding it than others. And don't pity him, he is quite set on killing you all once you reach the tower.~_

_Oh yeah. I keep forgetting about that._

_~You forget a lot of things. Namely, my entire past before you turned me into a monster. I've been combing your head for my past since I found you and haven't gotten more than that, at some point, I was happy. It's like they're being blocked from me but I can't find a barrier of any sort.~_

_Uh... I'm pretty sure you're being blocked because I can think of several details of your past life that __have gone through my head since we started. I don't know why you can't see it though._

_~Tell me my past, then.~_

I hesitated. It was her right to know her past, but it would mess up the rest of her story. _I don't think I should._

_~I don't care what you think. I think you'd better tell me before I decide to leave you here for the rest of your petty, mortal existence.~_

_Whoa, hold on there for a second. You know why we can't just up and tell Lloyd and the party what's really going on and have to let things run their natural course, right? It's the same thing here. It would be disaster, and you're better off not knowing, _I tried to persuade her.

It seemed to work. She grunted at me and didn't reply.

I quickened my pace to catch up with Lloyd and Colette. "So...," I said trying to strike up a conversation. "I'm bored. Talk to me?"

"Talk about what?"

_  
_"I don't know... hmmm. Oh, hey, your hat is almost done, Lloyd."

"Wow, already?" He asked in surprise. He'd been watching me work on it the past few nights as I turned yarn into a hat. He told me it took too long and was so boring, that I probably wouldn't even finish it.

I nodded. "Uh-huh. I can make a hat in less than a day if I don't do anything else; but that would be terribly boring. I just need to finish stitching up the top and I'll be done. I'll probably give it to you tonight."

"That's great, Maddy!" Collete cheered. "What are you going to make next?"

"Hmm... I was thinking about making hats for you and Genis as well, but I need more yarn. Next time we're in Triet I'll see if I can't pick up some white and blue yarn," I said thoughtfully.

Genis turned to look at me in surprise. "You're making me a hat?"

"Sure," I said raising an eyebrow. "Did you not want one? Personally, I feel you'd look great in a hat!"

"I want one... I just thought... never mind. Thanks," Genis stuttered. I giggled.

"D'aww, you remind me of my nephews, Genis." I surprised him by wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a tight hug. I didn't know why, I just felt like I needed to hug someone, and Genis was looking particularly hug-able at that moment. The reminder of my nephews was probably making me homesick.

Lloyd and Colette were snickering as I released the blushing and sputtering Genis. "Heh, sorry. I'm prone to random spurts of emotion. Thanks, though, I needed that hug," I told him apologetically.

"Here, you can hug me!" Colette exclaimed, practically tackling me to the ground.

_~Ugh, you're making me sick. Stop with all the hugging and happy thoughts before I throw up.~_

_You can't throw up, you don't eat food, _I protested. I was struggling to breathe under Colette's firm grip.

_~I could make you throw up instead. It would make me feel better.~_

"Uh, guys? We're getting left behind..." Lloyd commented, eying the retreating backs of Kratos and the Professor.

"Coming!" I called out waiting for Colette to let go before jogging with the others to catch up. "Thanks guys."

"You dork. You should tell us if you start to feel sad, or need a hug," Lloyd told me.

We continued walking after that. Surprisingly, monster battles were a lot less common than the game would make it seem; we reached the warp to the seal after only one more monster encounter.

"What is that?" I asked warily as I peered at the warp pad. It looked like a small pool of some sort of glowing liquid. It didn't look safe to stand on.

"That's the warp pad," Lloyd told me confidently. "It'll take us to the seal. Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all." He stepped onto the pad and I watched as the magic contorted his body and teleported it somewhere else. Weird.

Kratos and Collette went up next with Raine and Genis shortly after. I didn't like being left alone, so it didn't take me long to decide to follow. I stepped on to the warp pad cautiously, expecting it to wobble like a water bed. It didn't, it was solid on top. As soon as my other foot left the ground, the pad activated.

Lloyd was right, it didn't hurt; but it tickled like crazy. Like when you go over a steep hill in a car and you're weightless for a moment. The pain didn't come until the end; when I teleported right into the path of large blast of fire.

It threw me back into the stone wall behind me. Even though fire made of mana didn't have quite the same properties as real fire, I felt like every inch of me was on fire as I slid down the wall.

I thought I heard someone shout my name, but I was in too much pain to notice. This was like getting stabbed in the leg one hundred times over. After what felt like forever, I heard the blessed words 'First Aid' and sweet relief flooded my limbs.

My eyes flickered open to stare up at Raine. "I love you so much right now."

"Ha ha. Get up and help if you can; I need to return to healing," Raine told me as she turned to return to the battle field.

I got to my feet shakily, and looked around to assess the situation. Lloyd and Kratos were looking pretty beat up as they fought hard to distract the monster from the rest of us. Raine was casting a First Aid on Colette who was injured, and Genis was charging up a spell. An ice spell to judge by the glowing mana pattern at his feet.

I decided to focus on healing Lloyd and Kratos as I was too shaken to risk drawing the giant flaming monster thing's attention to me. I hadn't played the games nearly enough to remember the names of all the boss monsters, so I didn't even try to put a name to it.

_~Ktugach. That's it's name.~_

_Shush, I don't care and I'm trying to heal. This takes concentration! _I snapped back at Neeko. My eyes flickered over to where she was playing with one of the smaller monsters, keeping it busy, before focusing back on Lloyd as I finished my cast and loosed the mana.

"Heal Shot." The name was still lame, but techs always worked best if you shouted their name for some reason. Lloyd flashed me a grateful smile as my heal hit him, and I turned to heal Kratos.

With the melee taken care of, I took a deep breath and started casting an ice spell. I was going to be useful, I was not going to let a little mishap in the beginning of the fight shake me up. Nope.

Ktugach looked my way and I dove to the ground just in time to avoid getting hit by another blast of fire. I didn't like this guy. He was mean. I got up again and resumed casting. The monster was busy trying to burn Colette so I actually got to finish my cast.

"Frigid Arrow!"

He was huge and he was holding still for the moment, casting at Colette, so I didn't have much trouble aiming. My spell hit right on, and I swear Genis must have been watching me to time it right because his spell hit at exactly the same time as mine.

The combined force of the ice spells knocked the beast down and Kratos wasted no time taking advantage of it's condition. He thrust his sword down into its neck, nearly beheading it. I looked away as Lloyd and Kratos finished the job and saw the light forming above the alter.

Remiel. I really didn't like that guy. I frowned as the blonde pompous angel appeared from the light and smirked down at us.

"You, the Choosen of Regneration. Offer your prayers at the alter."

I looked away from this too; I didn't want to watch them steal Colette's soul. I now had a lovely view of the wall. It was a very fine reddish color with neat little patterns carved into the brick that I was sure Raine would find very interesting.

_~You're going to look more suspicious to them if they find you not paying attention.~_

I made a face. _And where have you been while we've been trying to avoid turning into barbecue over here?  
__  
~I was taking care of the little monsters for you. You didn't notice the two little winged things that were supposed to join that fight but didn't? They were a nice little snack.~_

I looked over to see Neeko step lightly out of the shadows from behind one of the pillars. Her paws were coated with something reddish-brown which I guessed to be blood. _Ew._

_~I get hungry, and I must eat. You know how cranky I can get if I don't eat.~_

I did know. I shuddered and resumed staring at the wall.

After a moment of consideration, I sighed and turned back to watching Colette and the others. Colette had her angel wings and she was showing them off to an overly excited Genis. At least Remiel was gone.

I went over to where Lloyd was standing with Raine and Kratos. Lloyd looked over at me excitedly. "Did you hear, Maddy? He said the next place is across the sea! That means we get to sail on a ship! Haha! I can't wait!"

"You like ships, I take it?" I asked raising and eyebrow.

"Yep! After this journey, I'm going to build my own ship and use it to travel the world!" He was really happy, and his happiness was contagious.

"A ship...," Raine murmured. "Hmm... I wonder if there are any ships sailing with the way things are right now."

"We should head to the coast to see what we can find," Kratos replied.

"Sounds good. I'll go get the children," I told them as I turned to Genis and Colette.

"Oi, we're leaving now. You guys coming, or what?"

"Coming!" they both called out in unison.

~*~

I was walking close to Colette as we made our way out of the ruins. I was prepared to catch her when she fell. It was the least I could do after all the suffering I knew she was going through.

I was contemplating my decisions since starting this journey. My decision not to lie, and not to kill, as well as a few other things. Mostly, it was my decision to not give up any spoilers, and to let the game play as it should.

Neeko had never given me any rules that forbade me from telling them about myself or what was to come. She didn't have to. I'd always been a bit of a goody-two-shoes. I generally believed that most rules were put in place for a reason, even self-imposed ones. Especially self-imposed ones.

I was old enough to make my own decisions and I trusted myself to make the right ones. I was pretty sure I would know the right moment to reveal my secrets. Most likely when they asked so many questions that I could not escape them without lying. Telling the truth was more important to me than keeping my secrets.

In my head I heard Neeko sigh. _~It's not that I trust you to make your own decisions, it's because I honestly don't care what you do. I almost wish you would tell them right now. It would be the most interesting thing to happen on this whole journey, I'm sure. Kratos might attack you, that would be fun...~_

_Fun for you. I'm not particularly fond of getting skewered by Kratos. I'll stick to the way things are right now thank you very much._

_~Like I said, don't care. It will come sooner or later and it will be just as entertaining then as it would be now. Probably more so because they will be angry at you for deceiving them for so long.~_

_I'll cross that bridge when we come to it. So... Ossa Trail after a quick stop in Triet to restock? Should be fun, I'm looking forward to meeting Sheena._

_~You mean when Sheena tries to kill you? Yeah, I'm looking forward to that too.~_

_...spoil sport._

_

* * *

_

_**Author's Note:** Hooray for sick children. One of my nephews was up all night blowing chunks every half hour. One time right in my face and now I'm sick too. Then they went to church (without the sick one and the baby) and the oldest also started blowing chunks right in front of the whole congregation. Is good times. XD_

_So now the kiddos are curled up on the couch with an 'emergency bucket' and are watching a movie. I'm just trying to keep my breakfast down and crank out some story while I'm at it. I didn't really have time to go through and edit it so please forgive mistakes, and I really hope you enjoy this chapter._

_I hope to see you all again next chapter,_

_-Pyroth  
_


	6. Trap Door Revenge

**Chapter 6:  
**  
I chose a perch on a nearby boulder when we set up camp to let Colette rest. Lloyd was pacing anxiously by the fire while Raine tried to calm him down. Genis was better at hiding it, but I could tell he worried too as he spaced off while stirring dinner. Tofu curry. I disliked tofu and curry. Ah well. I'd eat it anyways.

I glanced over to where Kratos was sitting off to the side next to Noishe. Even four thousand years later the protozoan still watched over him. At least Noishe had stopped growling at me, he mostly ignored me now. He still avoided Neeko like the plague, I think he recognized her for what she was; at least a little bit.

Lloyd's pacing was beginning to get on people's nerves, I could sense; so I slid off my boulder and went over to him. We both needed a distraction and I had the perfect idea.

"Hey, Lloyd!" I called out.

"Hey, Maddy," he replied without looking up from his pacing.

"Do you happen to still have those wooden swords you had with you when we first met?" He had bought some real steal swords under the guidance of Kratos in Triet before we'd left for the Fire Seal.

He stopped pacing to look at me curiously. "...yeah..."

"Oh good. Go get them so you can help me learn how to not get beat up."

"Uh, what?"

I sighed and tried to explain. "You are going to try to hit me. I am going to try to not get hit, you following me here?"

"Oh. Uhm, are you sure that's such a good idea? I don't want to hurt you..."

"I'll get even more hurt if I don't learn how to handle myself in melee. So, please, help me?"

Lloyd sighed and turned to retrieve his wooden swords from the packs on Noishe's back. Guilt tripping Lloyd was so easy, almost made me feel guilty.

We went to a clearing not far from where the others were. I was trying to be confident as I unlatched the bow from my back. I was going to see how well the bow worked as a staff. I could always get a separate weapon for melee, but I didn't want to learn how to switch weapons mid-combat if I didn't have to.

Lloyd came at me slowly, slower than I knew he could go, but that didn't bother me. I was okay with taking baby steps. At least until I figured out if my bow was balanced well enough to be a staff.

It seemed to work okay, but I didn't really know much about weapon balancing. I managed to get the hang of blocking Lloyd's slow attacks so he began to speed up; and then I wasn't so good at blocking them anymore.

By the time I felt we should end it, I could barely stand and was covered in bruises. Lloyd wasn't even tired.

"Dinner should be ready by now," Lloyd commented, glancing back towards the camp fire while he waited for me to catch my breath.

"Yeah... wouldn't want to miss... tofu curry," I replied between breaths, making a face.

"It's not that bad," Lloyd told me, rolling his eyes.

"Right... and tomatoes... are good eating."

It was Lloyd's turn to make a face. "But you hate tomatoes too."

"I hate... tofu and curry... more."

"Heh. Are you alright? We could have stopped sooner." He offered me his hand but I shook my head.

"I'm fine." I stood up straight and took a deep breath and tried to relax. It worked for the most part. "Let's go back."

"After you," Lloyd offered waiting for me to pass. I rolled my eyes as I walked past him to the clearing. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of curry wafted in our direction. At least there was rice. I liked rice. I could eat plain rice all day.

A little butter and salt wouldn't hurt though...

~*~

It was nice to have a bed again when we stopped in Triet to resupply for our trip through Ossa Trail. I opted to stay in the inn with Genis, Lloyd and Colette while Kratos and Raine went out shopping.

It was evening and we would be leaving early the next morning. I was rooted deeply into the not-so-comfy-but-better-than-sand couch in the front room. I didn't want to move, so I just sat and watched Lloyd and Colette by the fire. They were talking about some random memory from Iselia.

Genis was in the kitchen cooking something that smelled delicious, and I was thinking over a few memories as well. Mainly, what I'd be doing right now if I were at home. Maybe making dinner for everyone while doing dishes.

The nephews would be running around underfoot trying to buy cookies or treats with cuteness. I'm a sucker for cuteness, but I do not spoil my nephews. Instead, I would bribe them off with a banana or pinapple and a glass of milk which was almost as good as a cookie in their eyes. My nephews are freaks that really love fruit.

The sudden change of topic in my thoughts to food made me remember something. I glanced up at upper level of the inn frowning. I wanted to test my theory, but then I would have to get up from the couch.

I debated over it for a while before my curiosity got the better of my laziness and I slowly got to my feet. Neeko padded slowly after me as I made my way up the stairs. At the top, I glanced down towards the end of the hall and spotted the green turtle lamp at the end.

I walked up to it and was disappointed when it didn't disappear in a puff of smoke. I crouched down and poked it in disappointment.

_Is the Wonder Chef not real?_

Neeko snorted. _~Oh he's real. He's just not showing himself because I'm here. He seems to think I'm dangerous or something.~_

_Right, 'cause you've totally never committed genocide or anything like that._

_~I haven't committed any genocide recently. Here, I'll get him to come out.~ _Neeko stepped forward and lifted a paw. _~You will show yourself, Freak, or I will shred you into so many ribbons, it will take you years to reconstitute yourself.~_

Sharp wicked looking claws extended slowly from Neeko's paw, and the green lamp exploded in a puff of white smoke that knocked me back and sent me into a fit of coughing.

"Hello! I am the mysterious gormet, the Wonder Chef!" A cheerful, but slightly frightened, voice greeted me, as the blonde chef appeared twirling his red cape.

I stopped coughing and stood up, grinning. "Ah, I always thought you were an awesome character, Chef-man."

"Really?" the Wonder Chef asked, brightening. "It's about time I got some appreciation around here. Most people just stare at me like I'm crazy." He sniffed in disdain.

"Anyway, are you ready to learn how to make cabbage rolls? Good! To the kitchen!" he shouted, pointing with his giant fork as he grabbed my wrist and leaped over the railing; dragging me with him. I barely managed to jump in time to clear the railing. Go super exsphere reflexes!

We landed with a thunk on the floor below, startling Lloyd and Colette. Lloyd stood up,in surprise and worry as his hands drifted towards him swords. I only had time to flash him a thumbs up to say I was okay before the Wonder Chef was off again; towards the kitchen this time.

We burst through the doors, making Genis jump and nearly spill a pan of scalding hot stew down his front. "Maddy-? Wha- who is that?!"

"Hey Genis," I greeted him, smiling as the Wonder Chef released my wrist and began taking over the kitchen. "Sorry. He said was going to teach me to make cabbage rolls. I don't think he'll take 'no' for an answer. He says he's the Wonder Chef, by the way. Isn't he awesome?"

The look Genis gave me was pure win. Did I ever mention that I make it an art to get people give me odd looks? No? Well I do.

Once, me and my friend went downtown and walked around the stores with me pretending to be deaf and her pretending to be my translator. We were both taking American Sign Language classes at school, so we were actually signing; and if anyone asked or brought it up we would tell them what we were doing. Technically, it was studying; our teacher even agreed.

Oh man, the guy at the ice cream shop almost had a panic attack when we reached the front of the line after signing away while we waited. His face of relief when my friend turned around and talked to him; priceless.

Anyway, back to the kitchen. The Wonder Chef was busy putting ingredients together and explaining away at the stove while I listened intently. I like to learn to cook. Whenever he needed an ingredient, he would wave a hand and it would just appear. Nifty.

"Are you sure he's not crazy?" Genis leaned over to whisper into my ear, staring wide-eyed at the caped chef.

"No," I answered simply. By this time Lloyd and Colette had come in to see what was going on as well. They were standing behind me and Genis trying to figure the Wonder Chef out.

_So... who's more powerful, you or the Wonder Chef?_ I asked Neeko curiously.

Neeko shrugged. _~Him at the moment; but that is easily remedied. I'm working under four seals right now.~_

I paused to consider that. Four seals put her at, S-A-B... C. She was class C? That didn't make any sense. _Wait, but Tales of Symphonia is a class B world at the minimum. Iggy is a class A, and Origin might reach class S. Not sure though, can he manipulate time or matter?_

Small moment to explain: I made up a classing system for various worlds because one of my favorite past times is to imagine different cross-overs. That was hard to do when you couldn't figure out who was more powerful than who. I used this same classing system in Neeko's world.

Broken down, there are classes 'F-A', and an 'S' class for those that couldn't really be classified in where else because of the sheer over-powered-ness of their powers. 'F' meant like stone age with rocks and pointed sticks. 'A' meant you could destroy a planet in one stroke. 'S' was along the lines of wiping out galaxies, and unraveling time itself.

Neeko was an 'S+' without any seals, but she hadn't been unsealed in many thousands of years; and even then, it was because her powers had grown since she'd been sealed. She used to be only a class 'A' before she was sealed. 'S+' meant she could obliterate most 'S' classes without too much trouble.

I assumed the Wonder Chef to be at least in the 'A' class, if not 'S'. Probably an 'S'. I was fairly certain the trick with the instantly appearing ingredients was matter manipulation and not just teleportation.

Also, Iggy was the nickname I gave Yggdrasil because I couldn't pronounce his name. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do if I had to speak his name to his face. Pray he liked the name?

It took Neeko a moment to answer, and I wondered if she was going to, when the thoughts came into my head. 

_~It was the price I paid when I brought you here. I had to sever all but one seal to do that and, in exchange, I wear one more seal than I am supposed to. It's only temporary. After the first visit to the tower of salvation, I can break another seal and be where I should be.~_

_Huh. I don't know if I should be relieved or worried that you're weaker than you should be._

_~Cheh, I'm still more powerful than most of the people here. Telepathy is a great advantage in a world without it.~_

I returned my attention to the kitchen around me. The Wonder Chef was just coming away from the counter to present us with his plateful of freshly made cabbage rolls. "All done!"

He set the plate on the table next to us before waving his hands to make a set of fresh ingredients pop into existence. "Here are some ingredients to make it yourself, and I'm off!"

He disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Lloyd, Genis and Colette to gape at nothingness. My grin had returned and I sat down to eat some cabbage roll. They weren't bad, in spite of me not being a very big fan of cabbage.

"You're actually eating that?" Genis asked, giving me a disgusted look.

I nodded. "Yeah. It's not good to waste food, you know. You should give it a try, it's not bad," I told them, taking another bite.

Lloyd shrugged and came over with Colette not far behind him. They both agreed it was good and Genis came over reluctantly as well. We made sure to leave a portion for Kratos and Raine when they got back.

~*~

Crossing the dessert had been fairly uneventful, or quite boring as my mind thought of it. Boring, and hot. At least it wasn't as hot as the fire seal. That had been way too hot for comfort.

I was relieved when we reached the beginning of Ossa Trail and I could see green stuff. Yay! No more dessert! Just a little skirmish with Sheena and then to that little fishing village I could never remember the name of.

I kept looking up at the cliff ridges above us for any glimpses of purple as we walked along. I didn't see anything, of course, but I still tried. Kratos was also watching the ridges, but then again, he was watching everything.

"Stop!"

All of us turned to regard the infamous purple ninja herself, Sheena. She had to be like the least scary assassin ever. She looked more nervous than intimidating, but I didn't let that fool me. I was prepared to stand in the back and keep Kratos and Lloyd between me and her when it came down to fighting.

"What?" Lloyd asked, surprised.

"Is she a friend of yours, Lloyd?" Colette asked innocently.

Lloyd shook his head, frowning. "No, not that I'm aware of."

Sheena looked us over grimly before asking, "Is the chosen of mana among you?"

"Oh, that's me," Colette volunteered eagerly. We all glanced at her in disbelief.

Sheena took a deep breath and whipped out one of her card weapon things and charged. "Prepare to die!"

At that point, several things happened at once. First, everyone but me, Colette, and Sheena drew their weapons in preparation for battle. Second, Colette stumbled backwards in surprise, tripping over a lever sticking out of the ground. Third, something shoved me from behind and propelled me forward.

I had been standing next to Colette to get a good view, but the shove made me collide with Sheena. Our heads hit each other and there was a brief moment of pain before I heard a click and stiffened.

_Oh snap.  
_  
The ground dropped out from underneath the both of us and all I heard as we fell into the darkness was the snickering in the back of my head.

_~Revenge is so sweet.~_

_

* * *

_

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been a while, I've been distracted with new games and such. Also I've been getting sick off and on lately. It's been crazy._

_Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. The next one should be fairly interesting, with Sheena and Maddy in the mines. Should be good times. Lloyd had to be dragged off by Raine and Kratos to keep him from jumping down after her. Silly Lloyd._

_Much thanks to my reviewers, reviews make me happy. I love you guys. XD_

_Hope to see you again next chapter!_

_-Pyroth  
_


	7. Caves and Beaches

**Chapter 7:**

I thought I heard someone shout my name as Sheena and I fell through the trap door. However, I was more concerned with being able to land the fall once I reached the bottom.

Sheena didn't have that problem. She did this neat little ninja roll and escaped with nothing more than a few bruises and scraps. I tried to copy the roll but failed miserably.

I probably cracked my ribs, and definitely sprained my wrist when I hit the bottom. It was very painful. I let out a moan saying as much. I used my good hand to try and reach my bow to cast a quick heal spell when a foot came down on my wrist to stop me.

"Don't move!"

"Oh, right. Uhm, is it okay if I heal myself a bit? I am in a bit of pain right now." At least it wasn't as bad as being hit by that giant fireball.

I really hoped I wouldn't have to fight Sheena. I was pretty sure she could own my face, and I didn't think I could hit her with any of my spells; I already thought of her as a friend.

"Why would I do that? I'm trying to kill you, remember?"

"I thought you were trying to kill Colette?" I frowned up at her confused. Movement above Sheena caught my eye and I blinked in surprise at the sight of Neeko falling right on top of me. Well, in front of Sheena was more like it, I just happened to be occupying the floor in that area.  
_  
_The vicious snarl that erupted from Neeko startled me, and made Sheena take a step back. With my hand free, I carefully crawled out from underneath Neeko so I could sit up and get my bow out to cast my heal spell.

_~I told you you didn't have to use the bow to cast. You could have cast from the ground.~_

_Shush up, it's your fault I'm injured, _I snapped back at her. I wasn't in the mood to talk with Neeko at the moment.

I cast a quick Heal Shot on myself before standing up to try and keep Sheena from attacking me and Neeko. Sheena was pulling out her cards from behind her ribbon as I opened my mouth to speak. I didn't get words out before a chilling voice came from behind me.

"I... FIGHT... STRONG ONES... YOU... FACE... ME..."  
_  
Ohgreatshinkiesofdeathit'stheSwordDancer. _Please _don't tell me we have to fight him!_

_~Don't be ridiculous. Demons and beasts are the only things I'm allowed to kill without consequence. This guy is mine.~ _Neeko leapt over my head and landed in front of the giant, black, four-armed skeleton.

_~Now get Sheena out of here so I can crush this guy without suspicion. Unless you want her to know the cat you hang around with can-~  
__  
Okay! Okay! I'm going. Sheesh, _I interrupted her. I turned to Sheena and gave her a questioning look. "Truce for now?"

Sheena nodded, not taking her eyes off the Sword Dancer. "Truce."

"Great. Now let's run while the cat has it distracted," I suggested as I dodged around Neeko and hurried for the exit.

"Hey! You're just going to abandon your poor kitty... whoa, your kitty just took an arm off."

I winced. "Yeah. She's tougher than she looks, she'll be fine."

I glanced back to make sure Sheena was following me. She hesitated a moment, watching Neeko weave in and out of the Sword Dancer's three remaining swords, before catching up with me.

I shuddered as I watched the Sword Dancer's fourth arm crawl back to rejoin the rest of the body. As soon as Sheena was caught up to me I turned back around and focused on running.

The tunnels were a lot more confusing in real life than in the game. I took a couple of random turns, and only stopped when we were well out of hearing range. I was breathing heavily and leaned against the wall to help me catch my breath. Sheena wasn't even winded.

"What was that thing?" Sheena asked, looking to me as if I would know. I did, but I wasn't supposed to. I shrugged.

"Not sure... I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have wanted to fight it, though. I'm Madison Harper, by the way, but I prefer to be called Maddy. You?"

I wanted to get the introductions out of the way as quickly as possible because I didn't want to slip up and use her name before I was supposed to know it. However, she just stared back at me like I was crazy.

"Stop talking like we're friends. I don't need to know your name! We're enemies, as soon as I get out of here I'm just going to go kill your friend," she told me, glaring.

I sighed. So much for that idea. "Alright, fine. But if you won't give me your name, I'm just going to have to make one up for you. how about... Nina. Nina the ninja."

_~You're using names from other characters again...~ _Neeko's thought came into my head  
_  
Go fight your demon skeleton and leave me alone, _I growled at her, still angry.

Sheena made a face but didn't say anything as she looked around. "Where are we?" she asked after a moment.

I shrugged. "Underground? I don't know."

Sheena sighed. "I think there's wind coming from that direction," she told me, pointing. "Maybe we should go that way?"

"Sounds good to me." I followed her as she led the way. She lit the way with one of her cards. She apparently had one that glowed. Nifty. I wondered if I had a spell that would cast light, but I wasn't about to ask Neeko.

I hugged my bow close to me and tried not to focus on the fact that there were walls all around me. I always forgot I was claustrophobic until I was actually surrounded and trapped. I quickened my pace to walk a little closer to Sheena.

I had my eyes closed most of the time, pretending to be somewhere else, which was why I was taken completely off guard when something slammed into my back and knocked me to the floor.

"Monsters!" I cried out, but Sheena was already attacking one. I scrambled to my feet as the bat monster turned back around for another attack. Grrr... where was meat-shield Lloyd when you needed him?

I hit it with my bow, momentarily stunning it so I could take a step back to fire. They were fairly easy monsters, much to my relief. Still, Sheena had defeated three of them by the time I was finished with mine.  
_  
_"Nice, Nina." I flashed her a thumbs-up, and she raised her eyebrow at me. I sighed. Sheena was so hard to get along with.

We started walking again and I went back to my attempts at rationalizing away my claustrophobia. It was okay. We weren't stuck and trapped for the rest of our lives; which probably wouldn't be very much longer as it looked like that roof was about to cave. Did they have safety codes for mining in Symphonia? Oh great googly moogly, what if they didn't?! Could the roof really cave!?  
_  
STOP IT, _I thought forcefully to myself as I moved closer to Sheena. I stared carefully down at my feet to keep my thoughts off the ceiling. The ceiling so close to my head I could reach it if I stretched my hand out over my head... no safety codes...

I couldn't help myself. I whimpered. I was fighting tears actually. How stupid. Stupid cave. Stupid no safety codes!

"Are you okay?" Sheena asked, concerned.

"No." It was just so incredibly stupid. I didn't crumble under pressure in combat when my own life was at stake; but in a cave? With no visible monsters? Just _walking_? I was a whimpering baby!  
_  
_"What's wrong? I don't see any monsters...," Sheena trailed off looking around. We had stopped walking and I had my eyes shut tight.

"It's nothing... just a little claustrophobia. I'll get over it in a bit. Er.. sorry," I took calming deep breathes and imagined I was somewhere else. Somewhere outside with lots of visible sky and trees. I liked trees. Born and raised in Seattle, large dark green trees were a great comfort to me.

Sheena was silent for a while, and part of my paranoid brain was beginning to think she had abandoned me. I opened my eyes for a brief moment to confirm that she was still there before going back to my happy tree place.

"You could try singing a song," Sheena said, breaking her silence. Now it was my turn to look at her with a raised eyebrow. She blushed and explained, "When I get scared, I sing a song and it makes me feel better."  
_  
_That was a pretty good idea. I tried to think of the happiest song I knew. I thought of it, then tried to think of another because it was just so embarrassing. No other was happy enough, that I could think of, so I sighed and started singing my nephews' favorite song. Sheena was going to regret this suggestion.

"Wiggle jiggle, yellow middle, that's the best of what you are..." I knew all the words and had sung it many times before. It was the only thing that would keep the youngest nephew still during a diaper change sometimes.

"White and tender, surround the center, cozy sitting in the crackling shell!" I smiled as I imagined the little flash animation with the rolling eggs, and sun, and sky.

"Vitamins and minerals in you. Oddles of the proteins too. Oddle doodle! Popular and perfect and, so complete in every way!

I heard a groan and looked over to Sheena who had her face buried in her hands. She didn't say anything, though, as we began walking again.

"Come into my tummy, oh so very yummy; crack, crack, crack! Chipa-chip away your shell and come to me! Get your egg!"

I was getting into the song now. It was catchy, and I was trying to take my mind off the cave. Yay for eggy flash animations!

"I love you! I love you! I really really love you so! Eggs I really love you like the sky above!"

"I love you! I lov- ah!" I stopped when I ran into Sheena who had stopped. She was still, listening for something. I stopped to listen as well.

"Maddy..." the ever familiar voice of my most favoritest, red-clad swordsman was the most welcoming sound I'd heard in, probably, my whole life. Not just because Lloyd was an awesome friend, but because it meant that the exit was behind him.

I took off like a bolt, completely forgetting about Sheena. I focused completely on that voice as I ran as fast as I could towards it.

"Maddy! Where are yo- oh, Maddy! Maddy? Urk!" The last part was because as soon as I found Lloyd I ran up to him and grabbed him by the front of his jacket and pulled my face up to his. Man, I was short...

"Irving, if you want to see me stay sane, you will tell me where the exit is; or _else_." I must have been pretty deranged looking. Lloyd didn't speak, but lifted his hand and pointed behind him.

Behind him, past the glow of Raine's staff that they had been using to light their way, was a passage. I released Lloyd and ran for the exit like there were rabid wolves at my heels. The slow lighting of the passage gave me hope and I rounded the corner to see the bright sunlight streaming in through the exit.

I staggered to a halt as soon as I got outside. I leaned against the rock cliff face while I caught my breath. I didn't even notice the others that were there until Colette spoke.

"Maddy, are you okay?"

I looked over at her in surprise, and then glanced behind her at where Kratos and Genis were standing. That would explain why I only saw Lloyd and Raine in the cave.

"I'm alright now, just a little claustrophobia," I said sheepishly. Lloyd came hurriedly out of the cave and looked at me anxiously.

"You alright Maddy? You looked like you had demons after you or something. I didn't see anything chasing you though," He glanced back at the cave entrance as if to make sure. Raine was the only thing to exit.

I shrugged, trying not to blush in embarrassment. "I'm fine Lloyd. Me and caves just don't get a long that well. Or me and heights. Or me and spiders for that matter."

"Oh," Lloyd said, staring at me like he didn't really get it.

"Well," Kratos spoke as he came over to join us, "If our business here is finished, we should get moving. We should be able to reach Izoold by dark still."

The others nodded and started heading out while I glanced at the cave entrance expectantly. My expectations were not met. I frowned waiting for Sheena to appear, but she didn't. Lloyd stopped and glanced back at me.

"Something wrong?"

I frowned, "What happened to She- I mean, Nina?" My eyes quickly glanced over to Lloyd's face to see if he noticed my slip up. He just frowned.

"Who's Nina?"

"The assassin girl that fell down the hole with me. Remember?"

"Oh, right. I don't know. Does it matter?" Lloyd asked.

I hesitated uncertainly. We were supposed to fight Sheena now, but almost our entire party was already walking ahead, and there was no sign of Sheena. I sighed and started walking after them.

"No, I guess it doesn't," I told Lloyd, still unhappy. So far I'd managed to go pretty far with out changing the story line too much. This seemed like it could be a major change.

_~You worry too much,~ _Neeko told me appearing suddenly at my feet.

_You don't worry enough, _I replied. _The world could explode and you'd be okay with that._

_~I'd be ecstatic. One less miserable mud ball to worry about.~  
_  
_See? You don't get to decide when to worry. I really hope we didn't just doom their world or something. That would totally suck._

Neeko made no attempt to answer, and I was forced to put it aside to think about later. So far everything else had gone according to plan, right? Not fighting Sheena here shouldn't change much. I hoped.

***

I tried to be cheerful as we entered Izoold, I really did. It wasn't everyone else's fault that I hated the beach and the ocean with a burning passion. I think Lloyd sensed my crankiness, because he came over to try and cheer me up.

"You okay? You're acting weird."

I frowned, and tried to act normal, "I'm fine... what do you mean weird?"

"You're scowling, you never scowl," Lloyd replied. He sounded worried, which I might have found sweet if I weren't wrapped in my cocoon of sandy, wet, salty, beach misery. Seriously, do people really _like _the beach?

I shrugged "It's nothing."

I grasped for something to change the subject; fortunately, I had the perfect thing right in the side pocket of my travel pack. I pulled out the red, lumpy bundle and pushed into Lloyd's hands.

"Here, I finished your hat. Try it on so I know that it fits before I cut the yarn," I told him.

Lloyd blinked in surprise as he unfolded the hat and looked it over. "Wow, that string really did make a hat!"

"Yeah. Fancy that," I replied without enthusiasm. He quickly threw it over his head and pulled it down over his hair. I was surprised the hat could stay in place over Lloyd's gravity defying hair. It did though.

He posed and glanced at me. "How do I look?"

Even in my misery soaked mood I had a hard time keeping a straight face. It helped that the sea breeze blew into my face; bringing the stench unique to the beach. Like some salty, dead, fish-rot smell.

Still, it was hard not to laugh. You have never seen true funny until you have seen Lloyd Irving in a crocheted hat. Instead, I gave him a thoughtful look.

"I'm not going to lie; I like it, Lloyd. Looks like the fit is good too. Let me break the yarn and you can go show the others." I stepped forward and took the hat off him, turning it inside out to where the string ended. I snapped the yarn and handed the hat back to him, anticipating the others' remarks.

"Thanks!" I watched him as he caught up to the others to show them. Collete's reaction was predictable, she smiled and said it looked great. Then she flashed me a thumbs up. I smiled back. Even cranky, it was hard not to smile back at Colette.

Genis looked at Lloyd like he was crazy, and Raine put her hand to her face. Kratos was the first one to tell him the truth.

"You look ridiculous."

"Hmph. You're just jealous because you don't have a hat," Lloyd replied.

Kratos didn't answer as he entered the inn, most likely to acquire rooms for us. I followed after him, thankful to get away from the sickening sea breeze.

Inside the inn I felt much better. I was probably going to spend this whole visit indoors. That didn't bother me, I preferred to be inside. I ran out of yarn, though; boredom would probably force me outside to get more at some point. I'd cross that bridge when I came to it.

The others came in after me. Raine went to go join Kratos in negotiating for our rooms, and I stayed back with Lloyd, Colette and Genis. I was starting to get the impression that I was being grouped with the kids. Not that I minded; hanging out with Lloyd was way better than hanging out with Kratos.

As soon was we got our rooms, I followed Raine and Colette to the room we would be sharing. It was a good thing most of the inn rooms were designed to fit four, we wouldn't be crowded when Sheena joined the party.

I threw my bag onto a random bed and sat down beside it. Colette grabbed the bed next to mine, and Rained settled across from her. Seeing Raine gave me an idea to combat my boredness.

"Hey Raine, do you have a book I could read?" I asked. "I'm trying to find something to do to fill up my free time."

"The depends on what kind of book you'd like," Raine answered as she grabbed a bag from the floor and started going through it. She pulled out a whole stack of books.

"I have one on the history of the great Kharlan war, a book on deciphering ancient languages, another on identifying diff-"

"The history one sounds good enough," I quickly interrupted her. I was sure she could go on forever describing her books.

She picked out one of the larger books and handed it to me. I was discouraged at the weight of it, but quickly assured myself that paper in this world was probably a lot thicker than on Earth. It still didn't make the idea of lugging it around in my bag any more appealing.

"Did I hear you were bored?"

I looked up at Lloyd who was peering into the open door of our room curiously.

"We could go spar," he suggested hopefully. We'd been practicing more frequently since we'd left the desert. Lloyd seemed to enjoy using me as a guinea pig for learning new techs. I was just grateful I was slowly getting better at defenses.

I made a face. "Do you plan on practicing on the beach?"

"Of course!" Lloyd answered, his eyes lighting up excitedly.

"Then count me out. The beach and me... we are not friends," I told him before resuming interest in the book.

"All the more reason that you should go practice," a stern voice interrupted my reading as Kratos stepped into the room.

I sighed as I put the book down. Yeah, no way I was going to be talking to Kratos long enough to argue my way out of practice. I was trying to stay as far away from Kratos as possible.

"Fine, let's go practice Lloyd. I have to go get some more yarn anyways," I relented, getting up.

Kratos stepped aside to let me pass as I joined Lloyd out in the hall. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Neeko following me.

_Well, that's not a good sign, _I thought darkly.  
_  
~It most certainly isn't. Lloyd is trying to learn Tempest; and that just sounds so painful for you, I couldn't possibly miss it.~  
_  
_You... you are a very, very, mean kitty._

_

* * *

_**Author's Note: **

_So, if you've never had the pleasure of experiencing a child throw up down your shirt, I do not recommend you do. It's... yucky. Fortunately, my nephews appear to have gotten over their illness. Yay!_

_In other news, my youngest nephew is officially the pickiest eating baby I've ever seen. He doesn't like bananas, sandwiches, tuna, avocado, tomatoes and a variety of other things. However, he does seem to enjoy eating crayons. Yay? Ironically, while he doesn't like tomatoes, he loves tomato based foods. Like tomato soup, and spaghetti; some of his most favorite foods. He is just one odd baby._

_Anyways, as for this chapter, I hope you enjoy it. I kind of wrote it in a sleep deprived stupor. Also I haven't gotten a chance to get a proper beta to look at it so please forgive the mistakes. Thank you all for your reviews, I love you guys, and I also love my silent lurking readers whom I wish would review so I could know them. No pressure though. :)_

_So, quick question, anyone have any comments or 'wish this would happen...' stuff they would like to suggest for me to consider putting in the story? It might be interesting to incorporate some other peoples' ideas into a story if I think they'd work out._

_Well, love as always,_

_-Pyroth.  
_


	8. Palmacosta

**Chapter 8:**

The boat ride across the ocean was fairly uneventful. Not that I would know, I spent most of it in the cabin with a very sea sick Raine. The others all thought she was just suddenly ill, but I knew better. I didn't say anything though; after all, I was in the cabin with her.

I was reading the book she gave me and trying to forget the bruises Lloyd had given me the day before. Neeko hadn't been kidding about him trying Tempest. At least I had the satisfaction of knowing Neeko was not enjoying this boat ride anymore than I was. She had wedged herself under the bunk I was lying on and had refused to come out.

The practice had been very educational. Neeko had decided that half-way through it would be a good idea to finally teach me the proper way to defend myself. You know, the technique I should have learned when Kratos was passing out all the defense techs at the fire seal? Yeah, he'd passed me up. I think it was because he didn't really have experience with my particular style of fighting, or maybe he hated me and wanted me to die. I liked the first explanation better.

My defense tech was more similar to Neeko's fighting style than the Tales of Symphonia style, which explained why I had such a hard time figuring it out. Neeko had thought it was stupid to have a generic bubble, hers was a bit more specialized. She pretty much manifested a force field where ever she thought she would be taking damage. It used less energy, but required a ton more practice to perfect.

I used a mana-shield instead of a forcefield, just in the same way. Or at least I was supposed to. It annoyed Neeko to no end that I was practicing making into a generic bubble around myself more than just on my upper arms to block Lloyd's wooden swords. Of course, it would have been even better if I could manage to manifest more than a weak green film that posed about as much resistance as a cobweb.

The boat pitched suddenly and I seized the sides of my bunk to keep from rolling off. Raine did the same, but I saw her face turn several shades of green, then fade to a pale gray. The boat rocked back and sea water flowed under the door and into the cabin. Neeko hissed and appeared suddenly on the bunk beside me looking very agitated.

I heard the sound of Genis and Lloyd arguing and I suddenly knew the cause of the motion. I growled.

"If we worked together, we could drown them before they drown us all..." I offered to Raine jokingly.

She didn't reply, just let out a tortured moan and settled back on her bunk.

_~If you're curious, I know several entertaining ways to-~_

_Don't finish that sentence. You know I wasn't serious, _I grumbled.

I was glad when we reached Palmacosta just before night time. I was not looking forward to seeing how we would all sleep on that tiny little boat. I helped Raine out of the cabin and off the boat and didn't say anything as she miraculously over came her illness just by walking on solid land for a few minutes.

We wasted no time reaching the inn and getting rooms for the night. We didn't run into the chosen impostors, but I wasn't worried. I figured that could wait until morning, it was like... dark-o-clock in the evening. Not even they were insane enough to be out this late.

I was right. The next morning we woke up and went to do some exploring of the town to figure out where the next seal was, and bam; Colette ran right into the impostors. I suppressed a sigh as I watched the most annoying part of the game unfold before me.

"Oww, what did you do that for?" The woman Colette had run into complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Colette apologized, helping the woman to her feet.

_I don't suppose I could convince you to snag that book right here and now? _I pleaded Neeko as I watched them debate over the destruction of the palma potion.  
_  
~What happened to not changing anything?~ _Neeko replied, amused.

_We already did that thing with not fighting Sheena, and I really don't see how this would change anything other than save us two or three weeks of travel time. Pretty pretty please?_

_~Hmm... why should I? I like it when you suffer.~_

I could tell she was toying with me. I had to make it sound like it was in her best interest to help me. I had to do it quickly, too, Colette was already committing us to getting them a new potion.

_Thoda Geyser. If you get the book, I'll have to face Thoda Geyser all the sooner. Crossing the ocean in a washtub? Uh... I don't suppose you could arrange for a boat to Thoda Geyser as well? Actually, I changed my mind. Get me the boat and leave the book, please?_

That had started out as reverse psychology, but turned sincere at the end. I'd rather walk for two weeks than cross the ocean in a washtub any day.

Neeko knew what I was doing, of course, but she agreed. Making me cross the ocean in a washtub would be cruel. 

_~I could make you do both,~ _she mused. _~But the walking would be more boring for me than entertaining. I'll get the book, but no boat.~_

_Just a little boat? Come on, you have to cross the ocean too! _I pouted.

_~Heh. No boat,~ _Neeko finalized as she readied to pounce for the book.

_Bah! I'm dumping you out of the washtub first chance I get,_ I growled at her as I turned with the rest of the group to hunt down a palma potion. I had only been half listening to the conversation as I tended to do when we came to a game cut-scene.

I feigned surprise when the woman that had been holding the book cried out and we all turned back around to see what was the matter. Neeko had snatched the book from her arms and leapt onto a nearby roof top.

I don't know why I was surprised when everyone turned in my direction. I don't think I'd realized that they'd blame Neeko's actions on me because she was 'my' cat.

"What?" I asked, stupidly.

"Get your flea-bitten feline under control and bring us back our book!" the impostor woman demanded.

_~Flea-bitten?~ _Neeko growled. She hissed at the girl, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"Whoa, just hold on a second there," I answered, holding my hands up defensively. "She's not 'my' cat. She doesn't obey me. Also, I would quit with the insults if I were you," I warned seriously. Neeko wasn't allowed to kill, but you'd be surprised what you could live through.

_~Allowed to kill... ha! These are minor characters, the punishment would be minimal._~

_Whatever, just take the book and get out of here, _I urged impatiently. This could be bad, I didn't want to have to try and urge Neeko to come bring the book back to keep them from being suspicious. She might actually do it just to spite me. Grawr! So frustrating.

Neeko shot one final glare at the impostors before darting off across the rooftops.

"Oh no," Colette spoke, placing a hand over her mouth. "Here, let me try to get it back." I watched in surprise as she sprouted wings and went after Neeko. Why hadn't I expected that?

"Oh!" The impostors' eyes widened in surprise.

"... forget about the potion, and the book. We just remembered we have somewhere to be right now," the impostor woman told us as they turned around and left hastily.

Heh, that's right. The _real_ chosen is here, you'd better run before you're found out as frauds. I tried to keep from smiling.

"What was that about?" Lloyd muttered, confused.

I shrugged. "Who knows? Anyways, any idea where we're going next?" I asked cheerfully, trying to change the subject.

"Hmm...," Raine murmered, "there is mention of a record of Spiritua's journey that's kept around here. Surely that would have mentioned where we could find the last seals."

"Right. So... to the church?" I asked.

"Actually, I heard it's kept by the governor here," Kratos commented. "But first, I think it would be best for us to stop by the shop to resupply."

"Yeah, we're out of apple gels." Genis nodded in agreement.

Kratos and Raine led the way to the shop while I fell into step with Lloyd, Colette and Genis. Yep, I was getting lumped with the kids on this trip.

"Hey, Maddy?" Lloyd asked, looking over at me.

"Hm?" I answered.

"If Neeko isn't your cat, then why are you traveling together?"

I frowned, trying to figure out how to explain it to him without sounding suspicious. I didn't think it would go over too well if I told them she had kidnapped me and trapped me into a video game for making her life miserable.

"It's complicated," I grimaced. "She sticks to me where ever I go, pretty much." I shrugged.

"That doesn't sound very complicated," Lloyd countered.

"Heh. So, what's the story with you and Noishe?" I asked, changing the subject.

Lloyd shrugged, "Noishe has been with me since before I can remember. He's really smart; but I think something happened to him when I was younger because he's really afraid of monsters."

I nodded solemnly. "That's sad."

I pushed aside the depressing thoughts of Anna's death and why Noishe was afraid of monsters and tried to think up a more cheerful topic. I was saved the trouble, however, when we reached the shop; but that only brought depressing thoughts of it's own.

"Oh please!" I heard the indignant voice of the young shopkeeper, "There's no way anyone would sell those to you at a price that low!"

I peered hesitantly around Kratos, who was in front of me, and watched the familiar scene of Chocolat denying the designs a discount. I didn't like the whole Chocolat part of the game. It was so sad what happened to her grandmother and how she blamed Lloyd for it.

"You should be thankful that we're even willing to spend money for goods from a rundown shack like this," the Desian spat back in disgust.

"I don't need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians! I'm not going to sell a single gel to the likes of you," Chocolat replied, folding her arms. Behind her, I spotted her mother's eyes widen in shock.

"Chocolat, stop!" she protested.

"But Mom, these are the monsters that took grandma away!"

"Tch, you've got some nerve talking to us like that, little girl!" the Desian growled threateningly, "You keep that up, and we can't guarantee what'll happen to you or this city."

"Just try it!" Chocolat countered, "As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we'll never submit the likes of you!"

I bit my lip nervously as I watched in silence. I loved Chocolat's spunk and that she stood up for herself and her family's shop. I just didn't like people getting hurt, and I knew that that was what this would eventually lead to. Not to mention Magnius; yeesh were they really that close to fighting Magnius? I wasn't looking forward to that.

"You little-," the Desian threatened stepping forward. His friend stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Stop, we'll exceed our quota for this year. We need permission from Lord Magnius to go any further."

"Humph."

"Depending on Lord Magnius' mood," the other Desian started, turning to Chocolat, "you might or might not get to keep that pretty little head of yours!"

With that, the Desians pushed past us and walked out of the store in a huff. I was relieved that nothing had changed and we didn't have to end up fighting them or anything. I tried not to think about the execution scene that was coming up.

"Well then," Chocolat said to her mother, "I'm off to work now."

"Take care!" her mother replied.

Chocolat walked past us and out of the store. Probably to the church of Martel, I thought that was where she worked.

Kratos cleared his throat as he stepped up to Chocolat's mother who was now manning the store.

"I apologize for what happened. I'm sure you were startled. Please, relax and take a look around."

Kratos nodded and started listing off the supplies we would need. It took about a minute for Lloyd to get bored.

"Hey, professor, can we go exploring? This is boring."

Raine sighed, "I suppose. Just don't go too far, and meet us back at the inn before dark."

"Alright! C'mon Genis. Colette, Maddy, you guys want to come too?" Lloyd asked.

"Sure," I answered, making my way to the door.

"Okay!" Colette chirped, smiling.

"Wait, Colette," Raine stopped her, "I think you should be with us when we ask for the record."

"Oh, okay. Sorry, Lloyd."

"It's okay, Colette, see you at the inn!" He waved to the others as we exited the shop together. I glanced around and the brightly lit sunny town and sighed. I missed the rain and snow. Those were my two favorite types of weather.

"Where are we going?" I asked Lloyd curiously.

"That way," he answered, pointing in the direction he was walking.

"Of course, makes sense," I answered nodding. Hooray for random adventures that hopefully wouldn't involve combat!

An hour later, I regretted my decision to join them. We didn't get into any physical combats, but that would have been preferrable to the mental battle we were all currently engaged in. I glared down at the test paper in front of me. Why... why was I in school again? I did my time! I was supposed to be free of tests and classrooms!

I shot a glare at the back of Genis' head. Him and his stupid prestigious school for smart kids. I sighed as I returned to the history section of my test booklet. I wasn't a bad test taker, I just didn't like school. Or tests with a section of history that I had mostly never heard of before.

I should have tried harder to distract them from the giant building that looked like a school, I just forgot about that part in the story where the cast had to take a test. Well, it was just Lloyd, Genis and me now.

I guessed my way through the History section, the Math, English and Science sections weren't so bad. Still, my head started to hurt near the end of it as it always did during long periods where I had to focus. I blamed Genis for this. As well as Lloyd for his random idea to challenge them to a test off.

We handed in our tests when the time limit was up and I sat back and prepared to fail. I hated failing tests. Lloyd and Genis came over to visit me as it seemed I wasn't likely to move.

"I blame you guys for this," I told them, my head in my arms on the desk.

"Heh, I didn't think they'd make us take the test too," Lloyd said sheepishly.

"Ignorance is not and excuse. You are still blamed."

"It's just a test," Genis said, looking at me like I was crazy.

"Your _face_ is 'just a test'," I glared back at him. He continued to look at me like I was crazy, and Lloyd joined him.

"What?" Genis asked.

"Nothing," I sighed. "I just don't like school, okay?"

"Why? Did you go to school before? What was your school like?" Lloyd asked, his boredom turning into curiosity.

"Uh, yeah, I did go to school. I didn't like it probably because I had some bad teachers." I paused, not really knowing how to tell them about my school.

"Teachers? You had more than one? How many teachers did you have?" Lloyd prodded. Genis was also listening in curiously now.

I fidgeted uncertainly, that was not a question I could answer honestly without arousing more questions. Time to dodge! "Eh, I don't really remember how many, it was a long time ago. What about you guys? What was school like for you?"

"Augh, why do you always do that?" Lloyd demanded, scowling at me.

"Do what?" I blinked in surprise.

"You avoid questions about yourself," Genis explained, folding his arms. "You turn them around on us or change the subject."

"Yeah, we hardly know anything about you! I want to know more about elves," Lloyd pouted.

I snorted, pointing at Genis. "And what are they? Chopped liver?"

I got another round of faces at my figure of speech, but Lloyd refused to be side tracked. "I grew up with Genis and the professor, they don't really act different or anything. I think it's because they've been around humans so much."

"Well, I'm the same boat. I was raised by humans, live with humans, and was taught by humans. If there's anything elves do differently, I don't know it," I told him definitively.

"So, you're adopted then? Like me?" Lloyd questioned.

Now that was a minefield of a question. I wasn't adopted, but that wouldn't make sense to them seeing as how I just made it clear that I'd been raised by humans. I decided to try to dodge this one too.

"You're adopted, Lloyd?" I asked, genuinely curious to hear the story in his words.

"Yeah, my dad's a dwarf. He found me in the forest with my mother. She died right after telling him my name. She was hurt pretty bad by Desians, I think my dad died fighting them. So my dwarf-dad, Dirk, raised me."

"Oh, sorry to hear about your parents," I told him sympathetically.

"It's okay, what about your parents?" Lloyd asked.

I shrugged. "Well, they're not dead. I'd really rather not talk about it, though," I said uncomfortably. I was glad it was just us and not Kratos or Raine. They might have been getting just a tad suspicious.

_~You think? I leave you alone for barely even an hour and you're already spewing your life story.~ _I heard Neeko complain in my head.

In front of me Lloyd nodded. "That's understandable, I guess. Oh, you said something about your 'nephews' once. Could you tell us about them?"

I smiled sadly as mention of my nephews brought on a wave of homesickness. Were they okay? Neeko said I'd only be gone for a few hours or so. Still, a few hours is long enough for them to destroy the house. I really really hoped they left their baby brother alone. They'd almost killed him before. I tried to push my gloomy thoughts aside. They'd be fine. They had to be.

"I suppose...," I trailed, hesitant to possibly say anything that might cast me further into suspicion. I also paused to answer Neeko.

_You're just upset because you might miss them getting angry at me and ostracizing me or something._

_~True.~_

I focused back on Lloyd and Genis. "I have three nephews. They are the sons of the people I lived with before I joined you guys. They were age four, two, and ten months when I left. The most adorable little boys ever," I sighed. "I miss them so much. The youngest was just learning how to walk..."

I fought back a sniffle, and took a deep breath to calm myself. I grimaced.

"It's probably better if I try not to think about home. I get homesick easily. Oh hey, look, they're back with our test scores," I told them, pointing to the man that had just walked into the room.

The man cleared his throat and Genis and Lloyd took seats near me as he announced the results.

"Lloyd Irving - 25."

"Yeah! My best score yet!" Lloyd cheered. I fought hard not to face-palm.

"Madison Harper - 286."

"Wait," Lloyd interrupted, frowning. "What's this out of?"

Genis shook his head. "It's out of four hundred, Lloyd."

I sighed. At least I got above failing. Was that a high D or a low C? My brain was too lazy to do the math after the work out I'd just given it. I decided it didn't really matter and waited patiently for them to announce the scores that were truly relevant.

"Mighty Washington - 398."

Mighty... Washington... who would name their kid that? I shook my head in disbelief as I turned to look at the guy. He looked pretty smug after hearing his score. I really hoped Genis beat that guy. He was seriously annoying.

"Genis Sage - 400."

"Alright!" Lloyd crowd, pumping his fist in the air triumphantly.

"Good job, Genis," I congratulated, leaning forward to ruffle his hair. In spite of it's gravity defying spikes, it was soft and fluffy. My compulsion to hug him increased significantly. Fortunately, there was a desk between us preventing me from embarrassing him.

I watched as Mighty came and apologized to Genis, choosing to stand apart with Lloyd as the proctor came and offered Genis a place at the academy. He turned them down, of course. Everything went as it was supposed to, and I was good and ready to leave.

We decided against exploring more, and decided to head for the inn to see if the others had had any luck.

They hadn't.

However, Raine did round on me as soon as I entered the room.

"Where is your cat?!" she demanded.

"Buh... duh... wha-?" I sputtered, backing away in alarm. I glanced at Genis for explanation. He seemed almost as confused as me. "Uh... I don't know? Neeko just kind of comes and goes as she pleases."

Raine sighed in frustration. "We have reason to believe that the book your cat stole is the record of Spirtua's journey."

"Huh." Not the most intelligent response, but all I could muster while I tried to calm myself from my close encounter with a maniacal Raine.

"We went to the Governor's house," Colette explained stepping forward. "He made a mistake. He gave the book to another group claiming to be us. They were going to arrest us for being impostors but I, uh..."

"She tripped and her wings came out," Raine finished while Colette blushed slightly.

"A-anyway," Colette continued, "He apologized and told us what the other group looked like."

"The descriptions matched the group we ran into this morning perfectly. Which leads me to believe that the book your cat took was the one we need to find the remaining seals," Raine finished, rounding on me again.

I shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze. "I really wish you would stop calling her 'my' cat. It's not like she obeys me or anything."

_Neeko, I don't suppose you'd bring the book in about now,_ I thought.

_~I'm already here. This thing is annoying to carry around in my mouth.~_

I looked over at the window in time to see Neeko appear through it. She jumped down onto the bed and spat out the book. _~It tastes like dust.~_

"Oh, hey, there she is," I announced, pointing behind Raine. I sighed in relief as Raine turned her attention to Neeko. Specifically, the book near where Neeko was curling up to nap. Raine snatched the book up and reverently began scanning it's pages.

"Marvelous, simply marvelous...," she murmured, completely oblivious to the rest of us. Well, almost. "Colette, come here and help me translate."

I did not envy Colette as she went over to help Raine. I didn't even want to look at the book in case I might actually be able to read it and thus be eligible to help. I was content to let them do the studying.

I felt someone watching me and looked up to meet Kratos' gaze. He held it for a few moments before looking away.

_Uh... what was that about?_ I asked Neeko nervously.

_~Oh, he just thinks the timing of the whole book retrieval thing was just a little too convenient and is convinced there's more to us than we let on. He's more suspicious of me than you though,~ _Neeko answered.

_Great. Peachy. I thought you had him distracted? _I muttered.

_~If I tried that now, h_e_'d undoubtedly get suspicious of something messing with his mind. It's natural to suspect a coincidence like this. Even Lloyd thinks I arranged this on purpose and he's the least suspicious.~_

I sighed, going over to fish my crocheting out of my bag. I had a feeling it would be a while before we headed out again, I might as well find something to occupy my time. Fortunately, there was a comfortable looking chair in the corner of the room that looked perfect for crocheting in.

I sat in the chair and went to work on the white with blue trim hat I was working on for Colette. I wanted to get it to her before she lost her soul and stuff. So she could enjoy it. Thinking about that made me think about the trip to the tower we would have to eventually make.

Did we really have to fight Kratos? Seriously, he was scary enough when he was holding back to appear human. Not to mention having to fight Iggy after that. Calling Yggdrasil Iggy did not make him any less intimidating. No, I was not looking forward to the tower at all.

_~Well, I'm looking forward to it. I've been wanting to fight Kratos since before we got here. Sounds almost as fun as fighting Abyssion.~_

_Good. Then YOU can fight them, and I'll go hide in the back and pretend I'm actually contributing to combat._ I muttered.

Neeko snorted, _~I will have bigger fish to fry at that point. Kratos and Yggdrasil will be up to you guys to handle._~

I didn't reply as I mulled over her words. A disturbing thought occurred to me and I quickly buried it, hoping Neeko wouldn't find it. I would have to think on it up later when Neeko wasn't around.

Instead, I focused on what color I was going to make Raine's hat. I didn't like the color orange, but that seemed to be the best option. Orange with white trim probably.

I had plenty of time to think about it, I was going to make Genis' and Kratos' hats before hers. Genis, because I wanted to make it clear that I considered him a friend and deserving of a hat; and Kratos because I wanted to give him his hat before the tower.

Aaaaaand now I had images of Kratos in a crocheted hat in my head. The maniacal cackling earned me many odd glances from the party. I couldn't help it, the mental image was just too funny.

"Sorry, I- uh, random thoughts. I do that sometimes," I apologized sheepishly.

Genis rolled his eyes as he and Lloyd left for their own room. Kratos folded his arms as he hmph'ed and walked out of the room as well. Colette giggled and went back to helping Raine translate. Raine hadn't even noticed, too absorbed in her ancient book.

I went back to my crocheting, images of Kratos in that hat still in my head.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

_Okay so, speaking of Thoda Geyser, I'm going to have them ride in groups of two in the washtubs. You guys want to vote on who goes with Maddy? :D You can have two votes, a first and second choice! :D_

_I'm also looking for a beta to edit my chapters, my current beta has gotten too busy to read my chapters; and she doesn't really like Tales of Symphonia that much. So, looking for new beta, particularly one that's good with punctuation as most of my mistakes are in punctuation. If you would like to volunteer, please let me know. I prefer to work via Gdocs, so if you have a gmail/google account that would work best. _

_Also must be willing to put up with me constantly throwing some of my old writings at you to read and bouncing story ideas off you._

_Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I had fun writing it. Hope to see you guys next chapter!_

_-Py  
_


	9. Seeing Red

You know, Palmacosta wasn't so bad when you weren't being forced to take a test. I stretched out lazily in the morning sun, enjoying some much needed alone time. Kratos and Lloyd were off somewhere training; which I'd narrowly avoided by sneaking out the window before Kratos could reach the room and wake me.

Raine and Colette were probably staying inside to research from the book more. I didn't really know because they had both been sleeping before I left. I had no idea where Genis was. Possibly with Lloyd and Kratos, or maybe studying at the academy. It didn't matter, because I didn't care.

I was having one of my 'do-nothing' days. I hadn't had one since I'd arrived in this world, and that had been months ago! I was over-due for some laziness.

"If you think that, then you're an even bigger fool than I thought," a vaguely familiar voice spoke as a shadow blocked my sunlight. "I didn't warn you about Kratos coming to be nice. I have my own plans for you today. Get up."

I winced when I felt a foot come into contact with my ribs. I looked up fearfully into a face I'd only ever seen in my head before. It was Neeko. In human form. I quickly got to my feet.

"Uh, hey. You're human...," I spoke, not liking the direction this was headed. Neeko in human form could mean a variety of different things. None of them bode well for me.

"Obviously." She pointed to the trees that were barely visible from where we were standing. "I'm taking you over there to train. Your weakness is becoming a liability in combat and I do not appreciate you almost dying every time an over-sized ladybug comes up from the grass."

"Train? With you?" I asked, my face going pale. "Uh... why don't you just tell me where Kratos and Lloyd went and I could just join them?"

"No." The one word answer was the last thing I heard before the world around us shimmered as if from intense heat and changed to that of a forest. Oh snap, she was serious. The last person Neeko 'trained' she'd killed as part of the training, albeit temporarily. This did not look good.

"Defend yourself," was all Neeko said before pulling out two tonfa from her belt and launching at me like Lloyd on steroids and speed. A Lloyd on steroids and speed that didn't care if I got hurt. I was going to die.

When I woke up sometime later, I couldn't even remember having passed out. All I remembered was pain. Lots and lots of pain.

Oddly, I didn't feel any pain currently, just extremely exhausted. I puzzled over this for a while as I stared up at the tree canopy. Lovely trees, by the way; not quite as lovely as the rich, dark, green trees of Seattle, but good enough.

I finally came to the dubious conclusion that Neeko had healed me. Which was impossible because Neeko could do many things, but healing and light spells were out of the question. Even with all her seals released. Though she could probably do some work-around that involved reshaping the molecules of the body back together, but my mind was getting off topic.

Someone, not Neeko, had healed me; and I was very curious to find out who. Probably because being curious was one of the very few things I could do at that point in time seeing as I couldn't move my arms or legs. They felt like jello. Very heavy jello.

"Hey, look! She's awake!" came a much different voice from what I was expecting. It was vaguely familiar, like I should know it but didn't. It definitely wasn't Neeko, though.

I turned my gaze toward the voice and found another two faces I'd never thought I'd see outside of my head.

"Kayla? Byakko?" I questioned trying to figure out if I was hallucinating or not.

The two were characters from another one of my stories. Kayla was the main character, she died in the beginning of the story and finds out she was the reincarnation of Suzaku, Phoenix goddess of the south.

Byakko was the white tiger god of the west, and had a huge crush on her. He was over-protective and went wherever she went. I'd be surprised if I saw one with out the other. Which explained why he was here when only Kayla would be needed to heal me.

Kayla gasped at my mention of their names, and Byakko narrowed his eyes suspiciously at me. Of course he would be annoyed that I had used Kayla's real name and not her goddess name. Suzaku. He'd been trying to get her to forget her past life for ages.

"What is this?" Byakko demanded, turning to Neeko who had appeared beside them.

"I thought as much," Neeko sighed, looking at me. "Are all the worlds I've visted creations of yours?"

"About half," I answered vaguely. I was distracted looking at the two. I wanted to get up and play with Byakko's ears and hug him like the giant stuffed animal he looked like. He had tiger ears and was covered from head to toe in white and black striped fur. It was supposed to be very soft. Wanted. Hug.

"Okay, she's conscious and perfectly fine. Now your task is done. Go away," Neeko growled at the pair. Ah, she'd wanted them gone before I woke up but that hadn't panned out. Probably because Kayla insisted she see for herself that I'd get better. That sounded like something she would do.

"I suppose...," Kayla answered, seeming reluctant as she stared curiously at me. Curious about how I knew her past name probably.

"Wait!" I called out, "Byakko, come here for a sec."

He hesitated, but came over. "Yes?"

"Help me up?" I asked, "I got a secret to tell you."

I could tell he didn't like the idea, but he wasn't the type of guy to leave a damsel in distress. He helped me up so I could whisper in his ear. I also got my hug in the process. D'aww, like a big stuffed kitty.

"Suzaku is your wife, or was before the reincarnation. You have two children. Seiryu is her brother, and Ty-ty will forever only be Kayla's friend. You get your girl in the end," I whispered as fast as I could hoping he'd only get about half of it. It didn't really matter if he knew all this, they were going to get their memories back soon anyway.

"What?" he asked, surprised.

"Okay I'm done! Your contract is fulfilled, be gone!" I commanded. I was surprised when it actually worked and Byakko and Kayla disappeared in a puff of smoke; making me fall over having lost my support. I glared at Neeko.

"You traded a Favor with me?" I demanded.

"What? You didn't think I'd give you a Favor for free, did you?" Neeko replied.

Favors were the currency of those that were too powerful to use any other form of currency. What use was money when you can just create more? They exchanged Favors instead.

Favors took the form of cards with an image of the person they were supposed to be favors from imprinted on them. When activated, the person was summoned to the card so they could perform a service for the person that summoned them. There were all sorts of rules and restrictions involved with them; like they had the right to refuse under certain circumsatances and what not. It was pretty complicated.

What all this meant was Neeko had traded a Favor that she had received from Kayla and Byakko at some point with me for a Favor from me. Then she activated it on my behalf so I could be healed, thus I had the authority to end it and my command worked. What mattered was that Neeko now had a Favor from me. I was trying to decide if I should be worried or not.

"Can I see my card?" I asked. I decided it wasn't really important, the rules made it fairly safe, and there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I just didn't know what favor she could ask of me that she couldn't do herself.

"No. You need to get back to Palmacosta. The execution is soon and you're supposed to be there for that."

"Uh-huh," I said skeptically, "and how am I supposed to be there when I can't move?"

"That, I can fix myself," Neeko replied, coming over to me. I was pretty sure I didn't want whatever she had planned, but I couldn't exactly stop it. She placed a hand on my head, and what happened next was one of the weirdest sensations I'd ever had.

I was pretty sure she was transferring some of her energy to me, but what it felt like wasn't pleasant. It felt like she was injecting me with a plague or something. Nausea overwhelmed my senses, and if I'd been standing I was sure I wouldn't have managed to remain so.

I curled up into a fetal position, cradling my head in my hands and trying hard not to throw up. I lost my fight, and quickly sat up enough to toss my breakfast out on the grass before going back to my previous position. My head was a throbbing mass of pain.

After several moments, the sensation passed almost as quickly as it had come. I sat up, spitting the taste of bile out of my mouth and glared at Neeko. "Don't ever do that again."

"I make no such promise," Neeko answered. "The discomfort is only temporary while your body turns my energy into your energy. Normally, I make the change before transferring, but I can't do that as I am now. This works just as well."

Neeko pushed herself away from the tree she had been leaning against casually. "Now get up. I'm taking us back to Palmacosta."

"You sure you've got enough energy to do that?" I questioned, standing up slowly. I could move again, but it felt wrong. Almost like it wasn't really me doing the moving. I tried to ignore it.

Neeko snorted. "Don't be stupid, of course I do."

"Right, you don't fool me. You're tired too," I replied, confidently.

She didn't answer me as she came over and the world around us went all shimmery again. When we reappeared at the inn, she turned and left me. Probably to go rest, though she'd never admit it.

I wasn't in the mood to care. I still felt sick from the energy transfer and decided to see if I could sneak in a nap at the inn or something. Maybe I'd feel better after some rest?

I just entered the front room to see Lloyd and Genis coming down the steps to where Raine, Colette and Kratos were waiting for them.

"Maddy!"

So much for sneaking.

"Hey guys, something up?" I asked. It was rare to see Raine up and about with the book still being translated. "Did you figure out where the next seal is?"

"No," Raine answered, turning to me. "There were some disturbing rumors about Desians being spotted in town harassing that shop from the other day and we were going to investigate it."

"Yeah, there's a crowd forming at the town square, you didn't see it while you were out?" Lloyd questioned me. "Where did you go, anyway? I couldn't find you when we went to wake you up this morning."

I shrugged, "I was doing stuff."

It was difficult to focus on the conversation with my head throbbing the way it was. The effects of whatever Neeko had done to me were taking a long time to subside. I forced myself to pick meaning from their words. Desians in Palmacosta town square...

Oh right. It was time for _that._

"Are you okay? You look kind of pale," Lloyd commented as they all moved toward the door.

I frowned, walking with them as we made our way out to the street. "It's nothing; I have a headache."

"You missed out, Kratos was going to train with us this morning. He really knows a lot about fighting," Lloyd began informing me.

"Imagine that. A mercenary knowing a lot about fighting. Absolutely astonishing, Lloyd," I replied sarcastically. He rolled his eyes at me in response.

"You should have come, he could have really helped you improve your defenses."

I shook my head. "No offense to him, I'm sure he can be a swell guy, but Kratos scares me. Besides, your regular beatings are about as much as I can take as it is."

Especially if Neeko's training sessions were going to become a regular thing, which was very likely. Ugh.

"He does hit pretty hard," Lloyd agreed, rubbing his arm. He must have taken a blow there or something.

I didn't try to reply as we reached the town square and it became too noisy for a conversation. It looked as if the entire city was all gathered in one place, which was considerably more people than had been in the game.

I wasn't entirely sure how we would get to the front in time to stop the execution of Cacao, Chocolat's mom. I needn't have worried. Kratos walked in front of us and people hastily moved away from his glares.

It wasn't long until we were up front and could see the make shift gallows. Cacao was up there and Desians were everywhere.

"Out of the way!" one of them announced, loudly over the noise of the crowd. "Lord Magnius approaches!"

Everyone looked over to where the large, red-headed cardinal appeared out of nowhere. He was much larger than I had been expecting. Like, I could put Genis on my shoulders and Magnius would still be taller.

"It's Magnius from the eastern ranch...," I heard the whisper a few feet away from me, and I barely saw Magnius shoot forward at a surprising speed. He was surprisingly fast for such a large guy.

"That's _Lord_ Magnius, Vermin!" He snarled, lifting the man up by his neck. I could only watch in horror as he easily snapped the man's neck and tossed him aside like a rag doll. Beside me, Lloyd and Genis were equally appalled.

It didn't get any better when a Desian stood up on the gallows and began making announcement.

"This woman defied the wishes of the great Lord Magnius and refused to provide us with supplies. Therefore, while the designated death count has been exceeded, we have been granted orders to carry out this woman's execution!"

"Dammit!"

I turned in surprise to Lloyd who'd just spoken, he was scanning the crowd as if looking for something. "Why isn't the city militia doing anything to stop this?" he demanded.

Someone around us must have heard him, because a man turned to us to answer. "Most of them are out on training exercises right now."

"The Desians must have waited for this opportunity. Slimy jerks!" Genis growled. I declined to comment as I tried to figure out what all was supposed to happen at this point in the game. I didn't remember there being any death, maybe I forgot about that part in the game?

"Mom!"

The shout rang out over the noise and everyone turned to where Chocolat was pushing her way through the crowd. She stumbled through the front row and headed for the execution platform. She skid to a halt when one of the guards stepped in her path.

"Stop right there, woman!"

The Desian on top of the platform stepped forward with a scowl. "If you interfere, we'll make you suffer in ways that will leave you begging for death!"

Chocolat glared daggers at the both of them, and I was impressed by her courage. "You think Governor-General Dorr will let you get away with this?"

"Dorr?" Magnius sneered, "Hahaha! Don't get your hopes up, woman!"

A rock flew through the air pegged Magnius in the head much to the shock of everyone. All eyes turned to the little boy that was scooping down to pick up another rock and my heart sank. I might have been able to handle seeing Cacao, an adult, in danger because I knew she would be okay; but I very much doubted I could stay calm seeing a child in danger. I was already fighting the urge to rush over and protect the boy.

"You... disgusting little _vermin_!" Magnius roared stomping towards him.

That did it. Lloyd and I reacted at the same time as my resolve to not interfere broke and I ran over to stand in between Magnius and the little boy. I didn't even realize what I was doing until the energy barrier crackled into existence around us.

Normally, my barriers might as well have been made of cobwebs and were a light blue in color. This one, I could tell without testing, was strong and a bright red. Very unusual and ominous, in my mind. It disturbed me, but I forced myself to ignore it and focus on Magnius. I would think about that later.

"Stop right there! Demon Fang!" Lloyd yelled, his attack halting Magnius and drawing the cardinal's attention to him.

Lloyd was too distracted with is own anger to notice my barrier, but I saw several curious glances from the others. I grimaced, wishing I had answers to give them. At least the answers would have to wait until all this was over.

Raine turned her attention to Lloyd and put a hand on his shoulder. "Lloyd, stop. Do you want to turn this city into the next Iselia?"

I could see Lloyd's determination waver at the mention of Iselia, but his expression hardened again as he shook off Raine's hand. "It's not the same! This city doesn't have a non-aggression treaty with the Desians! How can we go on a quest to regenerate the world if we can't even save the people standing right in front of us?"

"Lloyd's right!" Colette spoke up, coming to his defense. "I won't just stand here and let this happen!"

While they were having this conversation, and Magnius was thoroughly distracted by them, I was considering whether it was safe enough to drop my shield and get the kid safely to his mother. As the thought of dropping my shield crossed my mind a wave of reluctance washed over me.

Part of me didn't want to drop the shield, but that wasn't entirely it, part of me wanted to continue the battle. Energy bubbled up within me that begged to be used. It wanted to fight. It wanted to kill.

Horrified, I tore down the shield and turned away from Lloyd, Magnius and the others. It had taken more effort to take down the barrier than it had to put it up. Still the energy pressed me to fight and I shoved it away, appalled.

I opened my eyes, only just realizing I had closed them, and the image of the wide-eyed kid in front of me helped me settle my thoughts. Get the kid to safety first, Maddy, then figure out what was going on.

"Hey, Boo," I said to the boy, forcing a cheerful smile and using the nickname I called my nephews. "Where's your mom?"

He blinked, and slowly turned to point at a white-faced woman in the crowd. She looked very anxious as I'm sure any mother would be. I tried to smile reassuringly at her, but her expression didn't change as I picked the kid up and brought him to her.

She thanked me politely before hurrying away with her son to safety. I didn't blame her, and I wished I could do the same until I figured out what was wrong with me. The violent tendencies were still pulling me towards the fight behind me, and I reluctantly had to turn around to watch.

"... you!" One of the Desians on top of the platform pointed to Lloyd in recognition. "You're wanted criminal #0074... Lloyd Irving!"

An evil smirk spread across Magnius' face. "Well, now! So you're that boy with the exsphere! This is perfect! After I take that exsphere from you, they'll make me leader of the five grand cardinals! Get them!"

One of the Desian sorcerers began charging a spell as I moved back to the group. I felt sick, but the part of me that wanted to fight was rejoicing. I was trying my best to ignore it, but it was difficult.

I did manage a real smile when Genis stepped in front of us and easily blocked their spell.

"Amateurs..."

"You worthless idiots!" Magnius snarled as he approached the gallows. "Enough of this! I'll take care of this woman first!"

He motioned at the guards on the scaffold and Colette gasped.

"No!" she cried out before throwing one of her chakrams at the rope that suspended Cacao. Cacao dropped through the trap door and thudded painfully to the ground. It was better than being dead I supposed.

"What the...?" Magnius questioned in surprise as Kratos rushed at him and slashed. The wound was minor, but Magnius still backed up warily. I would too from a scary looking Kratos.

"Let us respect the wishes of the Chosen," Kratos spoke.

All around us whispers of shock and awe errupted.

"The Chosen...?"

"She's the Chosen?"

"The Chosen herself has come to save us!"

Raine narrowed her eyes as she spoke a warning to Lloyd and Colette. "Do you all realize what you're doing? If you defy the Desians, this city may be attacked just like Iselia."

"That's right!" Lloyd commented, a disturbing intensity raging in his eyes. "And I know full well what I'm doing! I won't repeat the same mistake again. I'll destroy them all, the entire ranch!"

"Lloyd!" Raine scolded, "That's insanity!"

Lloyd's voice lowered. "They're only after Colette and me, and probably Maddy too, anyway," he answered, looking at me apologetically. I shrugged back, reaffirming my 'I don't really care' stance.

"Besides," Lloyd went on grinning, "we have the Chosen on our side! The savior who will regenerate the world! Right, Colette?"

"Yup! I'm going to fight for everyone's sake."

I kept my face carefully neutral as the futility of their argument made me sad. Stupid Mithos and his stupid world regeneration idea! The energy that boiled inside of me leapt at my outburst of anger, it promised to help me kill Mithos, and made me want to run off to the Tower of Salvation that very moment.

Frightened, I repressed it again. It was unrelenting! I was starting to get an idea of what it was and why it had come on so suddenly. My suspicions rested heavily on Neeko.

"I give up," Raine sighed, throwing her arms up. "You're all hopeless... But I'll help, since I'd be worried about you otherwise."

"Thanks, Professor!"

"Enough of this!" Magnius shouted, as he motioned his soldiers forward. "I'm leaving them to you. Get rid of them!"

Several Desians came at us as Magnius teleported away. "How dare you lay a hand on Lord Magnius! You're all dead!"

Battle time. Nervously I took my position in the back, the energy churned inside me anxious to be released. As Lloyd and Kratos took their places in melee, I lifted my bow and tried to see if I could help. Before I could gather my own mana, the unfamiliar red mana leapt to my finger tips.

For a moment, the red arrow formed and crackled on my bow. It wasn't like my normal arrows that wouldn't cut but could sure knock the wind out of somebody. This one was dangerous; very sharp, and decidedly lethal. I quickly dismissed it before it could be released.

I felt useless as the others fought around me. Genis cast his spells, Lloyd and Kratos slashing with their swords. Even Colette was charging in with her chakrams. It wasn't until I glanced over at Raine as she cast photon that an idea occurred to me.

If my theory was correct, then this tainted mana or energy or whatever, wouldn't be able to touch my heal spells. Or light spells if I had any. Which I might, I'd have to ask Neeko later.

I focused on my heal shot as I tried to find someone who was injured to test my heal spell on. There wasn't very much damage being taken on our side, this was a fairly easy fight. However, I could always count on Lloyd to get stabbed or maimed or something. Ah, Lloyd, what would us healers do without you?

I was right. As soon as I focused my heal on Lloyd, the tainted energy recoiled from me as if burned. It didn't like my healing. Didn't like it at all. And that cheered me up significantly. Lloyd appreciated it as well.

The fight ended quickly, with me only having cast my one heal spell. Me and Neeko, we were going to have words later.

Lloyd and Kratos helped Chocolat get her mother to the shop as the rest of the group followed afterword. I pulled Genis aside when no one was looking.

"Hey, I'm not feeling well. If they ask let them know I went to go rest up at the inn, okay?" I told him.

He looked me over with a frown. "You don't look well, either. Not to mention that weird red shield you put up, and the red arrow I saw. Is there something wrong."

I grimaced, "I'm not entirely sure. It's never happened to me before, but I think I'm okay. I might just need some rest."

"Alright, I'll tell them. You should talk to Raine if you're not feeling well, though, she might be able to help you," Genis suggested, looking over at his sister's retreating back.

"Heh, thanks for the advice," I answered.

I waved and continued on my way to the inn. With luck, Neeko would be able to answer my questions. If what was going on was what I thought it was, then there was much at risk.

Neeko was supposed to be the demon, not I.

* * *

**Author's Note: **_This chapter was fun to write. I hope you guys liked it. I also hope you don't mind me throwing a few confusing things in there. Trying to keep things interesting._

_Big thanks to my sister and Seraphim Orion for betaing for me. They are awesome. :D_

_There's still time to put in your opinions on who you all think should go with Maddy in the washtub to Thoda Geyser. :D Remember to pick a first and second choice, please. :)_

_Anyway, I never know what to say in these author's notes. Thanks for reading? I love you guys? See you next chapter?_

_XD  
_

_-Pyroth  
_


	10. I Shouldn't Answer the Voices in My Head

**Chapter 10:**

_I think your demon tainted the energy you gave me._ I told Neeko as I flopped onto my bed.

She was back in the form of a cat, curled up on the covers of one of the beds feigning sleep. She couldn't possibly be sleeping because she lived on a slightly different sleep schedule than humans; and by slightly I mean immensely. Her sleep cycle was fifteen years long. Awake for ten years, asleep for five.

When she did finally sleep, no one would even notice because she would remove herself from the time-line and reenter it at exactly the spot she'd left after she woke up. Basically five years would pass for her, but it would seem like no time at all for those existing in the world around her.

Neeko cracked open a yellow slitted cat eye and glanced at me icily. _~That is impossible. Once the energy left me and was transferred to you_, _it would have been completely converted to your energy.~_

_Not if the demon has been manipulating the energy from the time of the transfer through the stupid link you put in our heads so it would be easier to talk to me; and read my mind constantly, can't forget about that. _I rolled my eyes.

Neeko opened both eyes and lifted her head to regard me with a scowl. ~_... It is unsettling to be around someone who knows more about me than I do.~_

She sighed and shifted to a sitting position. _~Your theory is still very unlikely. If it were true, then there isn't anything I could do about it.~_

_It's your demon, fix it. Sever the link or something._

Neeko continued to scowl at me. _~It's not just a simple link that I can sever as I am now. It's complicated, and dangerous. Not to mention it's part of what holds you to your own world. Severing it would risk trapping you in this world for the rest of your life.~_

_Don't give me that, you could send me back at any moment if you just break a few seals. _I retorted.

~_And if something were to happen to me? If I were to die, maybe? What then?~_

I stopped. I hadn't thought of that. Neeko couldn't really die, she wasn't really here. The cat sitting on the bed was just a figment of illusion that she was allowed to live through even while being imprisoned.

Her real body was held in some remote location that could exist in any universe, at any point in time, in any dimension. Bound in so many seals and chains; she wouldn't even be allowed to think if not for the tiny breach that was allowed so she could have an illusion copy. A copy that they used as a slave to do their bidding.

If the illusion Neeko died, then it could take anywhere from a few days to a hundred years for her to form a new one. Depending on when her jailers would get around to obtaining permission for her to form a new one. Even then, she might not even remember taking me to this world. It was possible that I could be stuck here if she died.

_So... this link will make sure I get home even if you die? _I asked anxiously. She could do that. Maybe. Would she though? I didn't know.

~_Probably. I haven't exactly tested it.~_

` _Right, so, severing the link, bad. New plan. Any ideas?_

Neeko yawned as she went back to napping. _~The plan is that you learn to cope with it. I was trying to get you to be less of a pansy anyway. This just helps things along.~_

_What if I can't control it? I specifically remember making demons very hard for normal people to control, _I demanded.

_~Then I'll kill you. Problem solved. Now go away, you're annoying.~_

I could tell she was losing her patience, and she was probably at as much of a loss at what to do as I was, so I stopped arguing and stepped out of the room. I stood out in the hall trying to figure out what to do.

It was past lunch time, and I hadn't eaten breakfast either. Surprisingly, I wasn't hungry. I almost wished I were sleepy so I could take a nap, but I wasn't tired either. After a bit of debate, I decided to go take a walk and maybe figure out what the others were up to.

The next morning was much less eventful than the last. I was awake early, the sun hadn't even come up yet, and I managed to avoid Kratos and Lloyd's training session on my own. Neeko didn't even come seek me out for another beat down. I had a free morning all to myself.

And I was bored out of my mind. Almost literally. I was actually considering going off to find Lloyd and Kratos to go train with them, I was that bored. I probably would have too, if I weren't afraid of the demon interfering. I needed to learn to control it better before I trained with Lloyd again. I just didn't know how.

"Maddy!"

I'd been walking around town aimlessly all morning, and I was surprised to hear Genis call my name. I turned toward him and waved. Colette was with him.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked.

"It's terrible!" Colette cried out. I was surprised to see she was near tears as they came closer.

"What happened?"

"The Desians kidnapped Chocolat!" Genis blurted out, coming to a halt in front of me.

I blinked in surprise. I'd forgotten about that. So... wait... did that mean it was time to go to the ranch? Oh snap. I wasn't ready for a ranch. I didn't think I could stomach that. "Really? Those smarmy punks..."

"What?"

"Uh, nothing. I like to make up words sometimes. Pretend I said slimy jerks," I amended hastily. "Lloyd isn't planning on going after her is he?"

"He is." Genis started running back to the inn and Colette and I followed.

"Is he crazy? Taking on a whole ranch? That's suicidal!"

Genis shook his head, "Dorr is planning on coordinating an attack with us. The city's militia will fight most of the Desian forces, we just have to sneak in and get Chocolat out while they're busy."

I scowled. I knew Dorr was a traitor and that the army's distraction would never happen, but I couldn't say anything. I just nodded as we ran the rest of the way to the inn where Lloyd, Raine and Kratos were waiting for us.

"Maddy!" Lloyd greeted me. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you!"

"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep so I went for a walk. Nevermind that, what's this I hear about a suicidal mission to the ranch?" I asked.

"We can't just leave Chocolat there. It's our fault they took her. If we hadn't interfered...," Lloyd looked so upset and angry that I dropped my protests.

"If we hadn't interfered, her mother would be dead and probably a good amount of other town's folk. What we did wasn't wrong, and you're right. We probably should go save her." I finished for him. I sighed in resignation. This had to happen, even if I didn't want it to.

We packed quickly and started out right away. Lloyd was conflicted and moody the entire time, and some how I ended up being the one walking with him.

"So. You okay, Lloyd?" I asked. I'd never been a very tactful or subtle person. Blunt by nature, that was me.

He turned to look at me incredulously. "I should be the one asking you that."

"Huh?"

"Maddy, you've been acting weird lately."

"Oh, that. I'm not entirely sure what the whole red mana thing is about, but I think I've got it under control."

"No, not that... well, yes, that's part of it; but, I mean...," he sighed. "When was the last time you ate? You skipped dinner last night, and you didn't eat when we had lunch before that either. Did you even eat breakfast this morning?"

I grimaced. I hadn't even noticed my lack of appetite. He was right though, I hadn't eaten in almost two days. It was already past lunch time, and I still wasn't hungry. That frightened me.

"It's probably because I'm not feeling well. Colette doesn't eat much either," I countered. "Besides, a bit of diet will be good for me. Lose some of that flab, you know?"

Lloyd didn't answer right away. I didn't think he bought my attempts to misdirect him.

"Will you do me a favor?" he asked after a bit. I didn't like the sound of where this was going, and I waited silently for what he was going to ask of me.

"If... if there's something wrong, will you promise to tell me? Like, if you're in trouble or something."

I stopped. In the middle of the road, with everyone moving ahead in front of us, I stopped. I stared blankly at him at a loss for words. I couldn't promise him that. That would be lying, and I couldn't lie to Lloyd. Even without that, I wouldn't make a promise I knew I couldn't keep.

Lloyd stopped too, looking at me with concern. "Maddy?"

I was almost crying. I wanted to make that promise, I wanted to tell him that everything was wrong, and that I just wanted to go home. Go see my nephews... hug my siblings... talk to my friends...

I fought back the sudden emotion, and it was a moment before I started walking again and trusted myself enough to speak. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. I just can't make that promise."

His face fell, and I felt terrible. We were silent until Raine called a stop for lunch. While everyone was busy setting up camp and making a fire, I snuck off into the trees. I needed a moment to be alone. I needed to go cry.

I walked several yards away, and found a good tree to climb. I liked trees, even if I hadn't been able to climb one since I was little. With the exsphere and my more active life style, I found trees easy to climb again.

I went up as high as I could safely manage and curled up to wallow in self-misery for a bit. I wasn't up there long before the voice started.

**I can get you home.**

I jolted in surprise. The sinister feelings from before had never been so clear as they were now. They were feeding on my loneliness, growing stronger by the second.

**Let me free. Getting you home would be easy... **the demon purred in my head.

I was sorely tempted to take the offer. However, I'd spent my whole life resisting temptation. I'd also had experience with oily, sweet-talking, manipulative people. Nothing repulsed me more than someone who tried to sweet-talk me into something I knew I didn't want.

_Go away. You won't be taking me over, _I growled at it. My anger only made it stronger, as it tried to soothe my emotions.

**Just think about it. Think how easy it would be if you just let it all go... **

I closed my eyes and tried to think of something happy. My happy place. Where was my happy place? It took me a while to get away from my previous misery and sadness, but, eventually, I managed to turn my thoughts to memories of my nephews.

Them setting up their little toy boxes in a row and then sitting in them while making train noises.

One of my baby nephew helping to pick up all the tissues he'd taken out of the tissue box. He had been watching me try to put them back, and was copying me.

Another of all three of them helping me to bake fudge crinkle cookies... ooooh... cookies...

The demon had retreated from my thoughts for the time being, and the sudden memory of food sparked my appetite. I was hungry again. I sighed in relief.

I opened my eyes, feeling more like myself, and climbed back down the tree. I made my way slowly back to camp, hoping I didn't look too much like I had been crying. I also hoped there was something delicious for lunch, I was starving.

When we reached the ranch, Neil was waiting for us.

"Chosen One, please wait," he called out softly.

We stopped and Lloyd stepped forward to greet him. "Neil! We heard Chocolat's been kidnapped."

"..Yes," Neil spoke, looking uncomfortable. "I wish to speak with you regarding that. Please, come this way." He turned and walked towards a small little grove of trees that would be out of sight of the base.

"It doesn't sound like you have very good news for us," Rained commented grimly as we followed.

As we all crowded into the little grove, I took a place in the back; where not a lot of people could see my facial expressions. I was too worried about our trip into the ranch to bother schooling my reactions to events I already knew about.

"I would like you all to just go ahead and leave the Palmacosta region," Neil told them bluntly.

The group blinked in surprise, and I tried to look the part. "But if we do that, what will happen with Chocolat?" Colette asked.

"Yeah! We're supposed to work in conjunction with the Palmacosta army to save Chocolat, right?" Genis questioned.

"No, that's...," Neil looked awkward, and I felt awkward too. I felt miserable knowing the truth, and not telling anyone. It didn't help any that Lloyd had been avoiding me since the day before.

"So... it is a trap," Kratos spoke, and made me jump. I hadn't noticed him right behind me, which was odd. Usually I was paranoid and extra aware of where he was so I could carefully avoid him. I guess I'd been too preoccupied with the up coming ranch trip and the whole issue with Lloyd.

It was too late to tactfully step away from him, so I just stayed where I was. It wasn't as if I had anywhere else to stand, with Lloyd on the other side of the clearing and avoiding me and all.

Neil had been almost as surprised at I was at Kratos' statement, and his surprise didn't lessen any when Raine nodded in agreement with Kratos.

"Of the several possibilities, it looks like the worst one came true."

"What are you guys talking about?" Lloyd demanded, looking thoroughly confused.

Kratos turned an even gaze at him. "It was a mystery that the Desians would simply leave a city with an army alone."

"Yes, exactly," Raine agreed. "Choosing not to crush the seeds of rebellion must mean they are not a threat. They are left alone simply because they have no real power, or perhaps, because they are in fact beneficial."

"It is as you say," Neil confirmed, "Dorr is working with the Desians to lead the Chosen into a trap."

"Why would he do such a thing?" Genis gasped.

"Because he's a big jerk-face, that's why," I blurted out, surprising myself. That earned me a few looks and I grimaced, looking down at the my feet. I hadn't meant to speak out. I'd just never liked the whole Dorr betrayal thing from the game.

"He didn't used to be like this," Neil went on, ignoring my outburst. "He always though of the well-being of the people of the city. Even when he lost his wife, Clara, he swore to fight against the desians."

"Then why...?" Colette asked.

"I don't know," Neil answered, shaking his head. "At any rate, entering the ranch now will put the Chosen in danger. Leave Chocolat to me and please go on your way. Please regenerate the world as soon as possible."

"Indeed. It would be best to abandon the situation here for world regeneration," Kratos spoke.

"No!" Colette protested. "I can't just ignore this!"

Genis frowned as he stepped forward with Colette, a determined look on his face. Which was pretty cute, and I had to fight the urge to hug him. "Colette's right. If we leave things as they are now, Palmacosta may be destroyed just like Iselia. You think so too, right Lloyd?"

Whatever Lloyd was about to say, Raine interrupted it, making soothing motions at her brother. "Yes, what you say is true; but I still think Kratos is right. If you don't want to see cities destroyed, then you should avoid contact with Desians."

"No, that's not right," Colette argued stubbornly. "Regenerating to the world and saving the people in front of us are not exclusive of each other. That's what I think." She folded her arms fixed Raine with a firm gaze.

Raine sighed, putting a hand to her head. "If that is how you feel, Colette, then we do not have any right to stop you. The only one who has the right to make decisions on this journey is you, the Chosen one. Is that all right with you, Lloyd?"

"That was my intention from the beginning," Lloyd replied. "Remember what I said? I'm going to destroy them all."

A chill ran down my spine and I could feel the demon stirring in the back of my mind. The hatred in his voice was worse than before. Enough to make the demon sit up and take notice.

_No, go away..._ I hissed in my mind. The conversation continued around me as I fought to stay calm and composed. Happy thoughts, not fear... nephews, puppies, rainbows...

_~Ugh, the way you fight it is so sickening.~_

_You're not helping!_

~_Yeah yeah, just do what I do and tell it to sit down and shut up.~_

_Yeah and that works out real great for you, doesn't it? Because you totally don't loose control and go on the occasional homicidal rampage or anything, right?_

_~And that's totally because it's not like I've been fighting this thing for thousands of years longer than you or anything, right? Besides, your sarcasm is a sign that you're losing.~_

"Maddy!"

I blinked in surprise at Genis as he waved a hand in my face to get my attention. "Uh, what? Sorry, I kind of spaced out there for a moment..."

I blushed while Neeko snickered in the back of my mind. I pushed the anger out of my mind and forced a smile as Genis rolled his eyes and explained. They were trying to decide whether to rescue Chocolat now, or go deal with Dorr first. I hesitated before answering, taking a glance towards the ranch.

"Well... since we're in a hurry, and we're already here," I really didn't want to say what I was about to say. The very idea of going into the ranch repulsed me, but I knew it had to be done. "I think it would be best to rescue Chocolat now. If only to save on the travel time."

Genis nodded and turned to Lloyd. Lloyd avoided looking at me as he turned to everyone else and began organizing the entry into the ranch. I took a seat on the grass and was finding it increasingly difficult to stay calm.

A romp into the human ranch where Magnius awaited with Lloyd avoiding me and a stirring demon trying to take over my consciousness? This was going to get messy. Happy thoughts, Maddy. Happy thoughts.

* * *

_**Author's Note:** _

_My sister brought it to my attention that this chapter was entirely lacking in moogles and Locke from Final Fantasy 6. Of course I found this a serious problem and have proposed this solution:_

_ One day there was a moogle. His name was Mog. He had an adventure with lots of humans (and some other creatures he wasn't quite sure the name of) and came home with grand stories to tell. One of these humans was a treasure hunter named Locke. Locke was a good human. He had a nice scarf. Mog stole the scarf and now it hangs in a place of honor on his cave wall where all the moogles look fondly after it. The end._

_There. Now this chapter is not lacking in moogles or Locke. Problem solved._

_On a more serious (and somewhat selfish) note, August 3rd is/was my birthday. So, happy birthday me! Yay. I haven't decided yet what to do for my birthday, but I hope it's something fun..._

_Also, I'm sorry for not updating sooner, I was busy moving out of state and getting and then losing a job and all the fun complications that go with all that. I'm working on another chapter to my other story, Dragon's Twilight as well so for those of you that read that, I'll hopefully have something for you soon._

_As for who goes with Maddy to Thoda Geyser, I currently have a tie between Kratos and Lloyd, so if you guys have a preference between the two of those, please let me know in a review or a PM. Thanks. :D_

_Special thanks to my beta's, Delphie, and Seraphim Orion. Without which I'd be floundering in a sea of typos and crazy ramblings._

_Thanks for reading. Hope to see you all next chapter. :)  
_

_-Pyroth_


	11. Chutes and Laundry?

**Chapter 11:**** Chutes and... Laundry?**

Getting into the ranch was easier than I thought it would be. Of course, Neil did all the work while we just all kind of stood there and watched, but it was still pretty easy. I mean, where were all the guards?

I'd managed to calm myself enough to where the demon in my head no longer stirred quite so much. I was still worried that I wasn't particularly hungry at that time, but had I been hungry before? I couldn't tell... maybe I was just being paranoid? Did my lack of appetite even have anything to do with it as opposed to just being too nervous to eat?

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm again. I needed a distraction. So I began singing, in my head. Neeko did not approve.

_I'm a little acorn round, sitting on the cold hard ground, somebody came and stepped on me, that is why I'm cracked you see..._

_~For the love of... what is it with you people and singing? Is it some sort of mental disorder humans are born with?~ _Neeko growled, but I ignored her. The music worked well enough as a distraction, I was free to focus on the task at hand.

My mind was odd like that. I always had multiple thoughts going at once, and they tended to collide and derail one another if I didn't distract one. Music worked well, as did any sort of busy work with my hands. Hence why I listened better when I was drawing, or crocheting. I also did schoolwork and writing better with music in my ears.

So, with the music distracting the parts of my mind that were jittery with terror and anxiety, the part that was sane and logical could focus on sneaking into the ranch, and keeping myself alive.

Kratos was ahead of us, guiding the way through the shiny metal corridors. Lloyd wasn't far behind him, and the rest of us schmucks were bringing up the rear. That was okay. I was getting used to working with Raine and Genis at the back of the group.

_~You have a new tech, by the way.~_

The singing in my head cut off suddenly in surprise. _Huh?_

_~Silence! Thank the shadow... I was beginning to think I was going to have to bite you to get you to shut up. You do really have a new tech, though. You'll just _love _the name, too.~_

_Egads, what is it? Lame arrow of laminess?_

_~Even better! Bolt Bolt.~_

I stopped walking so suddenly that Raine bumped into me from behind. I gave her a quick apologetic look before continuing on after Genis.

_What. Be serious, what's the real name of the tech?_

_~I am being serious. See, it's bolt like lightning, and bolt as in crossb-~_

_I got the stupid joke! _I growled, shooting her a glare. _That name is just the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! I refuse to call it that._

_~Fine. Do the entire water seal without your lightning spell. Just see how that goes,~ _Neeko answered. _~Oh, and you guys are about to run into a Desian patrol coming down the other hall.~_

I looked up in time to see Kratos try to motion us to stop, but too late. Lloyd, in his lovable ADD fashion, had zoned out and completely missed Kratos' warnings. He stumbled over the mercenary and right into sight of whatever was beyond the bend.

"Hey-!"

"Intruder! Get him!"

I swear the whole group would have face palmed if we'd had any time to before a half a dozen Desians came around the bend. Lloyd cursed as he fumbled for his swords, and Kratos quickly pushed past him to intercept the enemies. He had one gutted before I even had the chance to get my bow out.

While the Desians hesitated, seeing Kratos' cold menacing stare, I took the time to test out my mana. I drew back my bow and to my relief, the arrow was blue. Reassured that I probably wasn't killing anyone today, I began to unleash as many arrows as I could.

Lloyd finally managed to get his swords out, but things weren't looking too good. The shouts and combat noises echoed far in these corridors and I really should not have been surprised when more Desians began coming to back up the ones that were already here.

"I think a tactical retreat is in order," Raine called out as she struggled to hold off a Desian with her staff. Behind her, Genis was casting like crazy.

"Yes! Very yes!" I agreed, hiding behind Colette as she defended me. Yes, I was hiding behind the little angel girl. I admit it. At least I was being useful while hiding. With Raine and Kratos busy in melee, I was taking up the healing slack.

In front of us, Kratos and Lloyd both dispatched their current opponents and stepped back to join us. Genis' spell, Lightning Blade, went off behind them to buy us some time, and we started running back down the corridor we came.

Halfway down the hall there was an intersection, and when Lloyd and I got to it, he suddenly grabbed my arm and skid to a very abrupt stop. He nearly pulled my arm from its socket, but an almost dislocated shoulder was better than a crossbow bolt through the heart... or three...

The bolts whizzed past my face and embedded themselves into the opposite wall, leaving me frozen like a deer caught in the headlights. Lloyd recovered much faster as he turned to face the Desians streaming down the second hallway.

"Professor!" Lloyd called, "Go free the prisoners, we'll hold these guys off here."

I glanced at Raine in time to see her nod tersely and turn away, "Be careful, Lloyd!"

Genis, Colette and followed her, each sparing a worried glance at Lloyd and I before catching up with Raine. Neil followed after them as well, a bloodied short sword in his hand. Funny. I hadn't noticed him fighting beside us. Huh.

Wait a minute.

If those guys went with Raine, then... that left me with Lloyd and...

I whipped my head around to make sure, and sure enough, Kratos was going stab happy all over the Desians behind us. He shot me a glare that would make a demon take a step back, and I realized I had just spent a good portion of time being completely and utterly useless.

I hastily brought my bow up and began casting spells to help out. I was playing healer for the most part. I couldn't get any decent shots through Lloyd or Kratos, and I only had a limited supply of mana. The Desians, on the other hand, seemed to have an almost limitless supply of soldiers.

"Maddy, don't you have something big to cast to buy us some time to run?" Lloyd asked me after sending a Beast into his opponent.

"Uh...," I answered, trying to think between shots. My mind flipped through the whole four techs I currently had and discarded each of them. "I don't thi- Oh... oh no..."

I interrupted myself mid-word as I realized there was one tech I was forgetting. One I hadn't tried yet and had no idea what it did. I did know that it had an incredibly stupid and utterly terrible name.

"What? What is it?" Lloyd demanded.

I sighed. "I might have one, Lloyd. Give me a moment."

"Alright, but hurry!" Lloyd replied.

_This doesn't mean I accept the name!_I growled at Neeko, but got no response. A bit of anxiety shot through me at the sudden silence I received from Neeko's link, but I didn't have time to worry about it. I had a new spell to tryout.

The spell took longer to cast than my other spells, which made me more optimistic that it would be more powerful. Seeing as it was my first time casting the spell, I had to use it's full and proper name or risk losing the spell. I was going to hurt Lloyd later if he laughed.

"Bolt Bolt!"

So preoccupied with the stupidity of the spell's name, I didn't notice the swirling red aura until it was too late. _No no no no... !_But the electrified mana projectile had already left my bow. I watched in fear as it streaked towards Lloyd and, thankfully, passed harmlessly through him.

The Desians were not so lucky. The bolt slammed into them like a wrecking ball, tossing them back as if they were ragdolls. The red mana had increased it's power beyond anything that I was capable of, it was scary to watch.

The spell slammed into the wall at the other end of the hall, rocking the building with the force of the explosion. I stared numbly at the devastation in front of me. I'd managed to get through the journey without killing a single person until now. The sight of those crumpled bodies... that would be with me for the rest of my life.

My mind wanted to shutdown, but I refused it. I wasn't a child. I could hold off the remorse and self-loathing that I dared not allow to surface until there was a more appropriate time to grieve. See, I had a very strong will to live, and me shutting down was not getting me any closer to that goal. So I packed away my emotions into a corner of my mind and focused on the task at hand.

Lloyd had shaken off the initial surprise and was calling out for Kratos to follow as he ducked down the hall I had just cleared. Almost mechanically, I trailed after Lloyd. I didn't hear Kratos' footsteps but I knew he wasn't far behind us. He hardly ever made any sound.

Desians rushed around a corner in front of us and Lloyd charged into them. I stopped and raised my bow, Kratos rushing past me to assist Lloyd. After that, things got a little blurry. I remembered that I switched to only casting heal spells, wary of the demonic energy and also because I was running low on Mana, but I didn't remember much about the fights other than the huge amount of blood.

I regained my senses when Lloyd pulled me into a side room Kratos had discovered for us to rest in. I sank to the floor almost immediately, my legs turning into soggy noodles. It seemed like we'd been running around and fighting for hours, though it had probably only been about twenty minutes.

"What is this place?" I heard Lloyd ask in a whisper.

I looked up at the room for the first time. Which was fortunate, because I needed a distraction. The box of emotion was trying to open and that just couldn't happen until after we were out of the ranch.

Around us rose a bunch of large metal boxes. They had round windows in the front, and buttons labeled in a language I didn't recognize. I recognized what they were, though.

"It's a laundry room," Kratos answered before I could. Probably for the best; I didn't think I was supposed to know more about washing machines and dryers than Lloyd.

"A what?" Lloyd asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't care what it is," I answered, closing my eyes and leaning my head back against the cool metal. "As long as we can rest." I was feeling the effects of running low on Mana. My head felt all fuzzy and dizzy; It was hard to focus.

"Here."

I opened my eyes and looked over to where Lloyd was offering me an orange gel. It was like a giant orange flavored gummy bear. Except it was more like a gummy... slime? From DragonQuest? It was dome shaped and every time I saw one I wanted to paint a smiley face on it.

I took it gratefully. "Thanks. I forgot to bring some." I chewed it and the relief was almost instant. I made a mental note to thank the person who invented them if I ever met them.

"You alright?"

"I'll be fine. Probably. How about you? I saw you take a few nasty hits." I said, trying to divert his attention away from me.

He shrugged, "I'm alright. You're a good healer."

I shrugged back at him. "I'm figuring it out." That was true. Healers had always been my favored class in various role-playing games. From World of Warcraft to Dungeons and Dragons, I was widely excepted by my peers as a superior healer. However, healing in a video game and healing in real life were two entirely different things.

For one , there were no health bars. You had to actually see wounds on the person to know they needed healing. You also had to use your own judgement to know how much healing they needed; and there was no such thing as a life or ressurection spell. Not yet, at least. Life bottles were much rarer than the game let on. They worked, though, if you could get to the corpse within an hour. I'd only seen one life bottle, though. Kratos bought it in Triet a while back; he still carried it.

A few things were easier, though. Like timing preemptive heals. When I can actually see the enemy swing their swords or aim a crossbow, I had a better idea of timing my heals when they'd be most effective. Then there was the motivation. I definitely had more motivation to heal well in real life. There were no save points, no respawn areas. If my friends died, they were dead. For good. That was... I wasn't going to let that happen.

It irritated me that I only had one heal. The small, fast, low Mana heal. I would have appreciated a heal-all spell or an emergency big heal, but what I really wanted was a heal-over-time spell. A HoT as most gamers would know it by. A spell that I would just cast and the subject would receive periodic heals every few seconds until the spell wore off. HoTs were my specialty. I would have to ask Raine after this if it were possible to create a heal-over-time spell.

A noise from the other side of the room made Lloyd and me look up in unison. Kratos was pushing some large carts filled with clothing away from a wall. I stood up to get a closer look as he turned back to the wall. He looked up at a hole in the ceiling and it dawned on me what he was up to. I could almost see him try to figure out if he could jump high enough.

"Here, boost me," I said, coming over to him. I hadn't spider-climbed since I'd turned fourteen and stopped playing hide-and-seek with my freakishly flexible gymnast cousins, but I was fairly confident I could do it with the added strength bonus from the exsphere.

"I thought you said you were claustrophobic?" Kratos reminded me turning his cold, creepy stare on me.

I blinked in surprise. "Oh, snap. You're right! I forgot." I glanced up nervously at the laundry chute, fear already setting in.

"You forgot?"

I nodded. "That happens to me sometimes."

"She's weird," Lloyd added helpfully, coming up beside me. "Are we going up there?"

"Yes. All of us. The prisons are on the next level up, we should be able to meet up with the others there," Kratos answered, upending one of the laundry baskets and setting it under the chute. He motioned for me to go first and I shook my head violently.

"I... uh... uhm..." How did you explain that you were too terrified to do something without sounding like a complete coward? There was no way. Besides, first or not, I was going up there eventually. I swallowed and removed my boots, tying the laces together before swinging them around the back of my neck. Barefoot would be easier.

Lloyd helped me get into place, and from there on it was just me, the darkness, and some very much too close for comfort walls. It was slow going, and a lot more tiring than I remembered. Though that could have been from all the adrenaline my fear was pumping out into me.

The constant feel of wall on all sides of me threatened to paralyze me, but the thought of being stuck here was enough incentive to keep going. I closed my eyes, and that helped a little, but I couldn't just turn off my sense of touch. I wanted to take my hands and feet away from the walls, to rid myself of the feel of them, but that would have been bad; so I ground my teeth and forced myself upward.

In my head, my thoughts were even more of a senseless jumble of nonsense than usual. A part of me was muttering prayers to God, another part was screaming about the walls... _oh so many walls... so close, too close, make them go away!_ Then, underneath it all, was the constant droning of '_I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadie..._'

Then something happened. I froze, and my thoughts silenced themselves as I tried to cope with this new development. Something had fallen on me. There was something on my head. All at once the drone of death came back to my mind accompanied by a much louder screaming voice. _I'm being buried ALIVE!_

The silence had lasted less than a heartbeat, and the screaming in my head lasted barely longer than that. Reflexively, though somewhat delayed, I shook the object off my head. As it fell the logical, sane part of me noted that it was clothing. Which would make sense. We were in a laundry chute after all.

I latched onto that brief flash of logic and sanity and sent it after the screamer. Sanity calmed the screamer some, and it allowed me enough peace of mind to go about getting my frozen limbs to move again. If only I could just find them, they seemed to have gone numb on me.

I felt a prodding sensation in one of my limbs and looked toward it to find my foot. And my other foot. And a Lloyd. Or, as the screamer saw it, another wall. Down was no longer an option. Up. Up was out. Wanted out. _Needed_out. I abruptly found my arms and resumed climbing. With more fervor than before.

It seemed like an eternity of nightmares before I saw my salvation. Light, above me. An exit! My exhausted limbs protested as I scrambled towards it, and nearly gave out under my clumsy maneuverings, but I latched onto the ledge and hoisted myself out with an adrenaline fueled, exsphere enhanced, strength I didn't know was possible.

I collapsed onto the floor and rolled over onto my back to peer up at the ceiling and heave gasps of air. It was fortunate that there were no enemies in the room at that time, as I would not have noticed them if they walked right up to me and stabbed me. I was too busy staring at the blessedly far away ceiling and wishing so very very much that there were windows in this room.

Lloyd came after me, with considerably more grace, and Kratos followed shortly after him. I continued staring at the ceiling, hyperventilating and non-responsive. Lloyd came over to try and help me. Unfortunately, Kratos got there first.

He lifted me by the front of my jacket with one hand and slapped my face hard with the other. "We do not have time for this. Come to your senses quickly, we need to keep moving if we wish to stay alive."

Pain and heat from my cheek brought me out of the little hidey-hole I'd made for myself in my mind to recover. I blinked uncertainly at his face as I tried to organize my thoughts enough for an appropriate response. He dropped me before I could find it and I fell painfully onto my hands and knees. I found my response.

"Ow."

I rose unsteadily to my feet, and Lloyd helped me balance for a bit as I rubbed my cheek and brought order to the fuzziness in my brain. I glanced at Lloyd's face and he shrugged apologetically. "Wow, I didn't know it would be so bad for you. Are you alright?"

I stared at him. "Promise me I never have to go in there again. Promise me that when we come out, we'll find another way. Promise me!" I demanded.

"Whoa, calm down. I promise, alright? I won't make you do that again. I give you my word," he assured me.

Just like that, the tension drained out of me. I knew it was a promise he might be forced to break, and I knew there were still more claustrophobic moments to come; but, at that moment, all that mattered was that he had promised. My mind was free to think again.

I recommitted myself to the task at hand. Help Lloyd and Kratos return to the others and free the prisoners. And then watch Lloyd crush the heart of a girl as he confessed to the murder of her grandmother. And then fight a very large gorilla man with a very large axe and very large spells of burning fire. Compared to the laundry chute? Piece of cake.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_

_Hisashiburi, ne? Sorry about taking forever to update. There's been a lot going on. I'm making a serious attempt at writing a novel, something I haven't done in ages. I think I've got a decent enough story thought out. XD_

_I'll just apologize in advanced for the next chapter being late. It's going to be late, I'm sorry. :S Quick question for you guys (if there are any fans of this still out there. XS), how old do you think Maddy is? How old do you think the group thinks she is? Just curious. I don't think I've ever actually mentioned an exact age for her. _

_I don't own Tales of Symphonia or any of its characters, btw, as I don't think I've put in a disclaimer anywhere either. That would be the property of Namco. Don't sue me, I don't have any monies. :P_

_Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry for being a terrible writer, I'm trying to get better. XS_

_Love,_

_Py_


End file.
